


Who Are You [From]?

by Na_Na_Nessa



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes are Best Friends, Confused Lexa, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Heda Lexa, I Don't Even Know, Literal Lexa, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parallel Universes, Science Fiction, Silly, Time Travel, but mostly only mentioned, i don't know much about science so bear with me, sort of time travel, this is going to be silly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-05-08 15:23:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14696955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Na_Na_Nessa/pseuds/Na_Na_Nessa
Summary: Raven couldn't wait to see the Becca Pramheda Historical Tour at the Polis Science Center, until an 'off-limits' section holding one of Becca's side projects catches her eye. Monty warns her not to go in, and next thing they know, someone from another time is coming through, but not from another time period in their world. Oh no. Someone from another dimension. How are they going to fix this?And just where are they going to hide her?"Clarke lives alone! We'll put her there for now until we can figure out how to fix this."Is Clarke prepared for this strange, yet adorable...guest to stay with her?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> So, I'm terrible at keeping up with stories (I do better with short stories/one shots mostly), but this popped into my head, so I'm going to attempt this (while I ignore my other work :P Heh. Heh.), and hopefully I stick with it.  
> It's going to be silly, *possible slight OOC Lexa at some points, but hopefully not too OOC. Maybe just exaggerated characteristics would be a better term*, just because I have this whole vision in my head, and I'm hoping I can execute it well! I'm not entirely sure where all I'm going with this, I'm just going to go with the flow!  
> So, if you've made it this far already, just bear with me on the rest.
> 
> I appreciate constructive criticism of course, just don't be rude about it. If you don't like it, don't read it. :)

“Can’t we come another day?” Monty asked as he looked up at the dark cloudy sky.

“What? Dude, no way! We’ve been planning to come for months,” Raven said with determination as she drove.

“But there’s supposed to be a storm in the next few hours,” Monty sighed as he looked up the weather on his phone.

“It’ll be _fine_ ,” Raven encouraged. “We have been waiting to go on the Becca Pramheda Historical Tour for how long now?” she asked him, and he nodded his head.

“Alright, but if my hair gets wet it’s your fault. Took me all morning to get it this way,” he said, and Raven chuckled.

“We’re going to be indoors, idiot.” She shook her head.

“Still,” he pouted as she continued to drive them towards the Polis Science Center, and she chuckled at him again.

 

Surprisingly, there was a decent amount of people, just enough to create a small crowd. A majority of them consisted of excited kids with their parents who didn’t look as enthusiastic, a few older men and women who oddly all seemed to have glasses perched on their noses, and then Raven and Monty.

“Alright, alright, everyone ready?” The guide addressed the group with a smile, and they all nodded as they began to follow her.

“This is exciting,” Raven whispered with giddiness as she bounced on her feet, and Monty couldn’t help but smile widely in agreement.

“Now, Becca Pramheda had many projects she wanted to work on and had started, but her most breakthrough was the AI she created to coexist with the human mind...”

They looked at all of her notes that were on display behind glass casing, some small gadgets she had worked on in her earlier years, until they finally came to the first AI prototype she had ever made, and everyone gathered around to take a look at the small chip secured behind glass.

“ _Excuse me,”_ Raven said, somewhat forcefully with a smile, making her way through the parents that didn’t seem too interested and only came because of their child, who were standing in the way. She and Monty stared in awe at the old model, which had since been recreated, modified, and improved to help civilization through the years.

Suddenly, thunder roared and everyone looked up, some of the younger children gasping, and waiting to see if anything was going to happen.

“No worries, there is a backup generator if the lights were to go out,” the guide chuckled, and motioned them to proceed on.

As they continued walking, listening to the guide as she talked about Becca’s life, Raven suddenly spotted a section closed off with a rope over to the side, and her curiosity sparked. She nudged Monty with her elbow, pointing over to it.

“What’s over there?” One of the children asked, noticing it as well.

“That area is closed off for now, but it holds some of Becca’s bigger projects that will be on display in the Fall once they check inspection. So, be sure to come back and check it out,” the guide said with a smile, and continued with her speech, slowly taking the group further down the way.

“Hey, let’s go check it out,” Raven whispered, and Monty gave her an apprehensive look.

“What? No, didn’t you hear the guide and can’t you see the rope? It’s restricted,” he said, and Raven raised a brow.

“Since when has that ever stopped me? _Come on_ , we could just say we got lost,” she encouraged as the group slowly got further down a small hall, beginning to turn a corner.

“No way, I’m not getting in trouble with you. Remember that time you told me to sneak out to the carnival with you on a school night, and I got stuck in that swing and they had to call the fire department? Can’t you just wait until the Fall?” he asked, but Raven shook her head.

“No, I’m going on vacation with my grandparents, and then going on that internship in the Fall,” she quietly whined, and Monty sighed.

“Well, can’t you just wait after?” he asked as he tried to get them to follow the crowd. “I’ll pay next time,” he tried to bargain, and Raven sighed.

They rounded the corner and met up with the group, but Raven kept looking back, feeling her curiosity grow the further they got away.

“Now, when Becca—“

“—Excuse me,” Raven suddenly raised her hand, and the guide looked up.

“Yes?”

“Where is the bathroom?” she asked politely, and Monty stared hard at her, knowing full well she didn’t need to use the bathroom at all.

“Just back around the corner.” She smiled, and Raven nodded, giving Monty one last glance before she began making her way back.

He stood there for a second, just going to let her go on her own, when his gut told him he should follow her and _maybe_ try to keep her out of trouble, and with a sigh he turned and quickly followed.

“Raven!” He caught up with her, and just as they were about to walk right up to the restricted section, a security guard walked by, and they both stopped, pretending to check out the displays in front of them.

Once he was far enough away, Raven began making her way over again.

“Are you insane?” Monty whispered, and she glanced back to check that the coast was clear, before flashing him a smirk, and ducking under the rope. “Raven! Come back!” he whispered urgently, and when she disappeared down the dim hall, he groaned in frustration. He was just about to go in when a small group of people walked by and he stopped, placing his finger on his chin as if he were really interested in the display in front of him until they— _slowly_ —finally turned the corner. Glancing around to make sure no one else was watching him, he quickly ducked in after her.

He finally found her around a corner at the end, holding her phone with the flashlight on. “Raven, we should go back. If we get caught...” he said, still glancing back behind them before he finally turned to look at her, and realized she wasn’t paying attention to him. “Raven,” he repeated again, but she was staring up at something in awe, and he noticed she was holding a large white sheet in her other hand.

Finally, he looked up to see a large machine in front of them, and stared at it in wonder.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked in awe.

“What is it?” he asked, noticing a small platform surrounded by what looked like laser-producing parts pointed in the center.

“It’s one of Becca’s side projects, when she was studying the aspects of time travel,” she said breathlessly, and thunder roared again, almost giving Monty a creepy feeling.

“Cool. Let’s go,” he tried again, but Raven tossed the sheet to the side.

“Hold on, I just wanna look some more,” she said, and he sighed as he looked back again to make sure no one was coming.

Suddenly a light came on, and he quickly looked around, afraid they had been caught, until he saw Raven standing by the light switch.

“Raven! Turn it off!” he whispered urgently, but she tucked her phone away and walked over to one of the storage containers, opening it up.

“ _Relax_ , no one is going to tell that the light’s on,” she brushed him off, and began looking through old notebooks and papers. “Wow...this may have been her next big project...”

Although Monty was very interested in all the thing’s Becca did, Raven had a knack for getting into trouble, and he shook his leg as he tried to let her have this moment, before he was going to force her to go.

“I’m confused...She talks of traveling through space, but this just seems...different somehow.” Raven’s brows pulled together as she read through the notes, and Monty quickly walked over to look, also becoming slightly confused as he looked at a diagram of the machine in front of them.

“That’s weird...” he said, tilting his head to the side. “This seems like some sort of fusion reactor…?”

“—Yeah, and she’s like...talking about space in a reflective sort of way? I don’t know, some of these I can’t read very well because they’re smudged, but she talks about the AI chip in here...and a genetic marker through...blood transfusion?” Raven said with curiosity, and suddenly Monty heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching.

“ _Shit. Hide!”_   He quickly grabbed all of the papers from Raven’s hand, shoved them back in the box, and then quickly shut off the light.

He hid behind the large machine while Raven hid behind the stacks of storage containers, both of them holding their breath as the footsteps got closer.

Monty shut his eyes, praying to whatever higher power that they would not get caught, when suddenly the static sound of a walkie-talkie, followed by a voice could be heard, and the footsteps began to retreat. He let out a sigh of relief, until Raven turned on the light again.

“ _Raven, no! We are leaving!”_   He whispered urgently, afraid the guard was going to come back.

“Just wait...” Raven said, going through another box with what looked like space gear in it, but Monty was not having it anymore.

He quickly walked over, and tried to grab it from her hands. “Let’s go!”

“No!” Raven whispered back, tugging on the gear. “I just want to look for a few more minutes!”

“We can come back when there _isn’t_ the probability of getting in trouble!” he said angrily, and they began a slight tug of war as another roar of thunder nearly shook the building.

“Monty! Let go!”

“No, Raven!”

“ _Let—go!”_

Suddenly, a near-deafening, loud, crack of thunder indeed shook the building this time, causing Monty to let go in surprise, stumbling back into the storage containers and knocking them over just as Raven tugged hard, and she fell back into the machine with a loud bang.

However, what surprised Monty more was the quick flash of lightning that seemed to have come through a light fixture, exploding the bulb with a loud _pop!,_ just as Raven fell to the floor, and unexpectedly, the machine came to life with a growing hum.

“Raven!” Monty said, quickly scrambling over to help her get away from the machine, and they watched in shock as it began to hum louder, beginning to vibrate.

“What the hell...” Raven breathed as this odd, small, glowing orb began to form in the middle of the machine, and growing rapidly.

It felt like they were being tugged towards it, as if it were sucking in all of the air and things around them like a magnet, and the remaining lights began to flicker and dim as the orb continued to morph and grow; the loud humming machine now shaking the area, making it too loud to even think clearly.

“Raven...” Monty warned as they were too in shock to move, and suddenly they heard a loud voice.

“What’s going on? What are you kids doing in here?” the guard said in anger and confusion until his eyes landed on the machine, and more guards and even a few of the workers ran in as well, stopping as they noticed the machine. They had to shield their eyes from the brightness of the strange matter.

Suddenly, the glowing orb seemed like it was getting too big and powerful for the machine, the building shaking too violently for anyone to move, and Raven suddenly grabbed onto Monty.

“Watch out!” she yelled over the loud humming, and they both turned and shielded themselves on the floor as the orb exploded in a blast of bright light, warm air, and an electrical buzzing feeling that made their hair stand on end and their skin tingle. All of the guards and workers fell back from the power of the blast, and the rest of the storage containers flew against the walls, raining down papers, notebooks, and items.

In an instant, it became dark and silent as it seemed all of the power had gone out. Raven and Monty’s ears rang with a high-pitched tone, making it hard to hear as they checked each other to make sure they were alright, slowly gaining their senses back.

Then, the backup generator kicked on, and the power came back, but only a few light bulbs had survived the blast, making it dim in the room.

“Is everyone alright?” One of the guards asked as they began to get up, helping the others, but what they heard next made everyone stop.

“ _What is that?”_

They all turned to look, and suddenly became confused and surprised at what they saw, staring silently at it.

“R-Raven...” Monty whispered wide-eyed, grabbing onto her jacket sleeve and shaking it.

“I see it...” she whispered back, staring as well.

There was a dark figure crouched down in the center of the platform with their back to them, wearing a long, black cloak with light smoke coming off of it, and they all watched silently as it straightened up, revealing long, brown, braided hair. It stood there silently for a moment.

Finally, a guard took a step forward.

“H-Hello?” he said with confusion and uncertainty, and the figure slightly turned its head to the side. “...Are you hurt?”

Suddenly, the figured turned around, and everyone became even more surprised and confused as they found themselves staring up at a young girl dressed in all black, with some sort of shoulder armor, and a tattered, red cape draping down her left side, with black smeared across her striking green eyes, streaking down her cheeks, and some sort of small symbol in the middle of her eyebrows.

She silently stared at all of them with a mixture of confusion and concern, until she finally spoke.

“ _Chon yu bilaik?”_

However, it wasn’t until she brought her arm forward that they immediately noticed she was holding a very large and very _sharp_ sword, and suddenly one of the women gasped.

“Alright, put the sword down!” the guard in front immediately shouted, and just as he went to reach for his shock baton, her eyes suddenly narrowed at him with a predatory stare, and she leaped forward, striking the weapon out of his hands. He yelled out and stumbled back away from her.

The others shouted and tried to step back and even surround her, and Monty and Raven watched as the girl slightly crouched, turning and watching all of them with her sword at the ready as all of the guards whipped their shock batons out.

It was silent and tense.

Suddenly, a guard darted forward, trying to stun her, but she spun out of his way and kicked his back, sending him crashing hard into the containers, and another guard darted forward at her. She spun again with ease, and elbowed him in the side of the face, sending him crashing to the ground, just as another darted forward and managed to stick the baton to the back of her shoulder.

She grunted in pain and fell to one knee, but she immediately looked up at him with predatory eyes.

“ _Maunon,”_ she said in her strange language, and before he even had a chance to blink, she swiped her leg across the floor, knocking his feet out from under him. Before she had a chance to strike him with her sword however, one of the guards jumped at her in an attempt to take her down, wrapping his arm around her neck.

She struggled with him, but surprisingly still stood on her legs, and swiped her sword across the chest of one of the other guards that tried to help take her down, and he fell with a yelp of pain as blood soaked his shirt. She then quickly charged backwards, slamming the one on her back into the wall behind them, but he still held on. She spun, trying to throw him off, but she couldn’t break his arm free with one hand, and he finally managed to plant his feet on the ground.

Suddenly, while Raven and Monty stared in shock, she grabbed her sword and struck it right into his left foot. The guard yelled out in pain as she stepped back around him to the right, causing them to bend forward as she pulled her head from his arm, holding on and twisting it behind him, and she kneed him in the back of the leg, causing him to fall down on his own knee. She then threw a punch into the side of his head, and he fell over.

She immediately yanked her sword from his foot and spun around, waiting for another to attack her, but one of the guards suddenly pulled out a walkie-talkie, yelling into it.

“Call the police! We have a dangerous person armed with a sword! Some are injured! Put the place on lock down, NOW!”

The strange girl looked wildly around at everyone, though they dared not to attack her, and suddenly she turned and started running towards the exit.

“STOP HER!” A guard yelled, and one jumped in her way, but she leaped up into the air and sent her foot right into his chest, knocking him hard to the ground as she continued to run.

Another came running up through the small hall, and she slid down, kicking his leg back. He fell forward on his hands and knees as she popped back up, and she swiped her sword across his back, causing him to fall flat to the floor, and she took off.

The other able guards got up and ran after her, as well as the workers, finally leaving Raven and Monty with a few of the unconscious guards.

“What. The. Fuck...” Raven breathed in shock, staring at Monty. “What the hell just happened! Did we just transport some Mad Max apocalyptic _maniac_?” she nearly yelled.

Monty quickly looked around at all of the papers scattered on the floor and picked them up, quickly going through them.

“Monty, what are you doing?” Raven asked, still trying to get over the shock of what she had just witnessed.

“We have to figure out how to fix this,” he said, tossing papers to the side as he continued to read.

“And how do you propose we do that? You just saw what she did! What she’s capable of!” she said incredulously.

“I don’t know, but we have to! We’re the ones that brought her here! If we don’t and they kill her or keep her here, we could mess up our whole timeline! Things could change!” he said frantically, and Raven finally understood.

“ _Fine_ , but...how do we even know what time she came from? I don’t think she’s from the past, and she was speaking a language I’ve never heard of,” she said with uncertainty, picking up notes and papers as well, shaking her head; her mind buzzing with questions.

“Maybe Becca was focused on the future or...a certain time period. I don’t know, find something that could indicate what time she was focusing on,” he said, and they continued to quickly look through the papers.

“Well if it’s the future...then I hope it’s after my time,” Raven said, tossing some and picking up more.

“Hold up...” Monty trailed off, focused on one piece of paper. “Raven...we’ve been looking at this all wrong,” he said, and Raven stared at him with confusion. “Becca wasn’t talking about time traveling through space like we thought...”

“Okay?” She waited for him to further explain.

“She was talking about traveling through _space_ , referring to time as space, as in: _an area of space_ ,” he said, looking up at her, and she stared at him for a moment; a slow realization crossing her eyes.

“You mean you’re telling me...” she trailed off, and he nodded.

“We just brought someone from another dimension.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Thank you all for the wonderful comments and kudos! I appreciate it!  
> Hopefully this chapter will be just as good, I felt like I may have rushed through it a bit, but only because I'm trying to push on and get to the more interesting parts of the story!  
> With that said, some chapters may be longer or shorter than others, but I'll try to keep them at a decent length, and hopefully they are just as entertaining as the last. :) I hope you all enjoy!

Lexa ran down the small hall as fear and adrenaline coursed through her.

How did she get here? Were these people the Mountain Men? But how did she get caught?

She made it out of the small hall in no time and came to a halt, looking around for a way out, but all she could see were odd contraptions, some large and brightly colored, some old and worn-looking, and some that she assumed were Mountain Men-made weapons on display around her. She had never been inside the Mountain before, but thankfully she studied and knew the enemy’s language well enough to be able to spot the ‘EXIT’ sign, and as she heard footsteps and yells quickly approaching, she took off towards it.

She rounded a corner and heard footsteps approaching ahead of her. She stopped and looked around until she spotted some large mechanical machine with colors and lights, and quickly ducked behind it just in time as the other guards ran passed her.

Once they were out of sight, she quickly got up and ran again.

She didn’t understand this place. There were so many loud noises, bright colors, strange contraptions… She didn’t understand what they were for, and as she quickly came around another corner, she once again came to a halt just as some other people who didn’t look like guards, and a child, were playing with one of the many odd gadgets. They turned and looked at her for a moment, eyeing her attire up and down, but when she held up her sword with blood on the blade, staring them down dangerously, they backed away with fear on their faces. She took off again.

She could hear the storm outside as well as yells around her, echoing through the building, telling the others to check here and there. She was just about to run down an open area when she heard their calls ahead, and she instead went up a flight of stairs to the right of her.

“Hey! Stop!” A guard yelled across the way, and she turned to run back down, but another guard was heading towards the stairs she had just come up. She then looked over the railing, judging the distance, and without a second thought, she hopped over it.

“Stop!” She heard them, but continued running, and finally, she came out to a large open area. She looked up as she saw this skeleton of some large, monstrous, creature with sharp fangs, large clawed legs, a long tail, and smaller clawed arms came into view, hovering over with its mouth positioned open. What did _‘_ _T-Rex’_ mean? Was this some sort of creature like _Pauna_?

“There she is!” Someone suddenly yelled, and guards gathered around, blocking what looked like large dark windows, and she had a feeling that was the way out.

She looked around at the several guard men while some of the others ushered the normal people away, and she tightened her grip on her sword, taking a deep calming breath as thunder roared outside.

_Don’t be afraid._

She began to step forward, saving the rest of her energy to take out these men and flee, when the one in the front held his hand up.

“Stop!” He yelled at her in a deep voice. “Don’t move!”

But she continued forward, and just as he whipped out his baton and tried to attack her, she struck his arm, causing him to yell out in pain as he fell.

“Don’t let her through!” Another yelled, and the others then darted forward. One by one she kicked, punched, blocked, and swiped at them, slowly quickening her pace until she was running, and as two stood in the way of the exit, she charged at full speed towards them.

Then, with a mighty yell, she slammed her armor-covered shoulder hard right into the guard in front of her, and they flew towards the glass, shattering it as they fell through.

“Stop her!” She heard them yell, and she quickly got up off the man that was groaning in pain, shards of glass falling from her as she ran.

She had finally made it outside, she could tell by the air, but there was something different. It wasn’t the earthy smell of soil and plants that she knew of. It was an odd fume smell mixed with the storm, and as she finally ran far enough out from under a metal roof covering, she came to a skidding halt as she suddenly found herself on hard, smooth, black, rock-like ground with odd white lines painted on it, and she looked up towards the drizzling sky in confusion as she was surrounded by tall, clean, undamaged buildings with lights. Where was she?

Suddenly, a horn wailed, and she turned and jumped back just in time as a large machine went zooming by, and her heart raced as she watched as more passed her. Then, flashing lights, wailing sirens, and screeching sounds caught her attention, and she looked around to see two of the odd machines with black wheels stopping feet away from her. She had seen these machines before, but they were clean and looked brand new, not like the dirty, rusted ones that sat in cement bunkers around the forest.

Four men suddenly came out from them, dressed in clean blue uniforms, and she clenched her jaw as they pulled out what she knew were the Mountain Men’s most feared weapon— _fayogon_.

“Freeze! Toss the weapon away, put your hands behind your head, and lie down on the ground!” One of them yelled at her. “NOW!”

The storm had made it darker outside, and she could barely see around her from the lights flashing in her face, but she held her hands out for a moment, slowly lowering her sword as she tried to scan the area for an escape. She saw an opening down a dark pathway between two buildings to her left, and she began to devise a plan.

“I said toss your weapon!”

She slowly set her sword on the smooth ground and slid it away, but she would not get on her knees. Not for anyone.

“I said lie down!” the man slowly approaching her yelled, but she remained standing, clenching her jaw as she stared at him.

Suddenly, a realization washed over her as the man got closer, throwing even more confusion at her as she realized they were _outside_. The Mountain Men couldn’t go outside without their suits and weird masks…

Just who where these people? Had they found a way to live outside? Did they do something to the air, which is why it no longer smelled of the forest like she was used to? Was this a different clan? But what about these strange new area she was in?

Her mind raced with questions that it almost made her head hurt.

“ _Chon yu bilaik?”_   She tried asking to see if he understood her. _“Chit yu gaf?”_

The two men glanced at each other for a moment, and she knew they didn’t understand what she had said. They weren’t Mountain Men as far as she knew, but they weren’t from any of the clans either.

“Keep still,” the man said more slowly and louder as he kept his weapon pointed at her as another joined him a few steps behind. He slowly walked around her while the other kicked her sword farther away, and she stared at him intensely.

Then, just as she heard the one behind her put his weapon away, and she felt his him grab her wrist, she quickly threw her head back into his nose, and he yelped in pain as she twisted her wrist out of his grip while spinning behind him, grabbing his own and forcing it behind his back. She pulled out her dagger hidden under her cloak at her hip, and held it to his throat as she used him as a shield. The others shouted and drew closer as they all became tense, and she watched them carefully.

“Let him go! No one has to get hurt!” One yelled, and she heard another speaking into something in his hand, catching the word _‘_ _back up’_ , and in the distance she heard sirens. More of them were coming.

She forced her human shield forward, causing the other one that had kicked her sword away to back up. They stood there staring at each other, her sword now lying there in between them, and she forced the man forward more until they were standing in front of her sword.

“ _Sis op,”_ she said, but the man didn’t move, and she could feel him slightly shaking, his breathing becoming harder. _“Sis op!”_   She urged him to bend down, and he must have finally understood her, because he slowly bent down with her and picked up her sword.

“Come on, no one has to get hurt!” The second man tried to reason with her, keeping his weapon downward, and she knew none of them would shoot while she still had the man.

She began to back them up towards the dark pathway, but she could hear the sirens getting closer, and she had to act quick before the rest came.

Suddenly, she cut the man’s throat, but only enough to cause him to bleed heavily, and he dropped her sword. She kicked him toward the other man, who caught him just as she snatched up her weapon and turned, taking off as fast as she could toward the dark pathway.

“STOP!”

She had no idea where she was going to go, only that she needed to find a place to hide until she could figure this out.

Suddenly, she heard a loud pop and pain struck her leg, causing her to stumble down onto her hand and knee with a grunt. She gripped her thigh as she looked down, and she could see a rip in her pants, black blood beginning to ooze out from the wound. She could hear their feet hitting the rock underneath the rain, and grit her teeth, forcing herself to get up and keep running.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and her adrenaline rose enough for her to push through the pain, and she saw a corner up ahead. She quickly rounded it, but as she did, she saw the machines with the flashing lights zoom by up ahead, and she turned back and ran down the opposite way, the shouts of the other men not too far behind her.

She looked up, trying to find something, _anything_ as she continued to run, but she still had no clue where she was. Still, she kept on running.

She came out of the dark pathway and onto flat gray stone, those machines speeding by on the smooth black stone, and she saw more people around her. They didn’t seem like they were trying to capture her, they just stared at her oddly as they casually walked by on the gray part, and she looked around for somewhere to hide.

“Hey! Stop!” She heard the yell down the pathway, and took off again across the black stone, keeping clear of the machines with their bright lights as their horns blared at her.

She felt slightly dizzy for a moment, but shook it away and forced herself to keep running, and suddenly, as she ran down along a tall building, when she came around the corner, she was met with a large crowd of people and music, but it was strange sounds she had never heard before.

The people were all cheering on the flat gray stone, while these other people dressed up in silly attire, waving brightly colored strips of fabric and things marched along on the black smooth stone, and she looked up to see a banner in the enemy’s language that read: _‘Spring Festival ‘18’._ She heard the sirens in the distance again, and she darted forward into the crowds.

Her head spun as she tried to make her way through, people laughing and shouting all around her, in her face, holding drinks and wearing silly bright things as loud music played. The pain in her leg increased, but she ignored it as she continued to push deeper into the crowd.

She finally fought to the other side and found another pathway that seemed to be vacant, and as she limped down in, using the wall for support, she had to stop for a moment to catch her breath.

She slid down the wall next to a large metal bin and these shiny black bags that smelled grotesquely, and laid her head back against the wall, breathing rather heavily as the rain lightly drizzled down on her. Thankfully, the storm had eased up, and she thought it bizarre that these people were outside, celebrating the season still even as it rained. She looked down and turned her thigh to inspect the wound, noticing a large opening in the skin, and it continue to bleed.

She knew she would need to stitch it up soon, or cauterize the deep wound, but where could she get the supplies or even wood to make a fire? There was no trees or a forest in sight.

She unbuckled the leather harness that was around her leg, thankfully having missed being hit with the man’s weapon, and with the grit of her teeth, she tightened it as hard as she could above it, hissing in pain as she buckled it, and once it was done, she rested her head back again.

She felt groggy and tired, having her adrenaline racing through her that she was sure she had lost a significant amount of blood and energy, and she closed her eyes just to rest them for a moment.

She tried to recall what had happened, and how she had gotten here.

She remembered they were out hunting in the forest when there was word of the Mountain Men nearing one of the borders of the villages, and after they had searched the lands for hours, a storm had crept in through the night undetected. They tried to hurry back even though they were tired, but they had run into a group of _Ripa_ , and they fought as it stormed.

She remembered struggling to take down a particularly large, aggressive _Ripa_ , and when she finally did and was just about to make the final strike to keep him down for good, rising her sword high up in the air, the last thing she remembered was a bright flash of light...and that was it.

What happened after that? How did she end up here?

She had no answers, and it hurt her tired mind to try to think any further, feeling the heaviness and the ache of her body increase. She wanted nothing more than to rest, as she hadn’t in what felt like days, but she knew she had to get up and keep moving, forcing herself to stand up once more. The pain in her leg seemed worse.

She slightly limped down the rest of the pathway, but she was already beginning to feel loopy from exhaustion, and used the wall for support.

_Just stay awake..._ She told herself, and she made it out between the two buildings and onto the smooth black stone, but her eyes were becoming far too heavy, and this strange world danced before her eyes . _Just stay...awake…_

Then, she fell forward.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where could she have gone?” Raven asked as they slowly drove through traffic, looking around for any sign of her. It had become even darker outside than before.

“I don’t know, but they haven’t caught her yet,” Monty said, listening in on the radio scanner he had downloaded onto his phone. “They said she took off down one of the alleyways, I think.”

Suddenly, they saw barricades and the crowd on the main downtown street up ahead, and Raven became worried.

“Do you think she went there?” she asked, and Monty looked at her with uncertainty.

They continued around the festival, just wondering how far she had gotten, listening to the scanner for possible hints.

“Are we sure we want to find this crazy girl? I mean...she attacked people without even hesitating.” Raven frowned as they came to a road on the other side of the festival.

“We have to. This could still mess things up, and from what I’ve heard she’s only wounded people. She hasn’t killed anyone. Wouldn’t you do the same if you were suddenly in a strange place and you don’t know how you got there?” Monty asked, and she shrugged with agreement.

“How could it still mess things up though if she’s from another universe?”

“Well, according to Becca’s notes that I managed to get before we left the Science Center, it seems like a parallel universe to our own. So, whatever happens here, could disrupt things there _and_ here,” he said, and Raven tried to make sense of it.

“Like what though? I mean...no one went over there on our end that we know of?” she questioned.

“No, but it could change things later down the road. Things we shouldn’t mess with. She’s not meant to be here in our world, but if she gets stuck here, what if our future becomes like hers when it isn’t supposed to? All of us carrying weapons and...apocalyptic-looking? I don’t understand all of it quite myself yet, but...try to think of it like _Planet of the Apes_ —the Mark Wahlberg version,” he said, and Raven raised a brow at him.

“Okay...” she said with confusion.

“Okay, so he ends up on their planet and helps the humans break free from the apes and fights back, and they win, right? Well, when he goes back to his own time and world, the apes have taken over there, because he changed things in the other time. See what I mean?”

“So, just because she’s here she could change things for both of our worlds?” Raven asked, as she slowly drove down the road, and Monty nodded.

“As long as we can find her, hide her and keep her from doing any more than what has already happened, then things should be fine until we can figure out how to get her back. Luckily, I grabbed the diagram and the blueprints for the machine—“

Suddenly, Raven stopped the car hard in the middle of the road, causing Monty to put his hands up against the dashboard as the seat belt cut into his shoulder and the tires screeched.

“What?” he asked worriedly, looking to her, but she was staring straight ahead. He looked forward, and sat up more as he noticed a figure crumpled in the middle of the road. “Is that her?”

Thankfully, no one was on this road as too many were preoccupied with the festival, and without a second wasted, they quickly got out of the car and ran towards her, slowing their pace as they got closer. They silently crept forward, but Monty still kept a distance while Raven walked to the other side of her, and she found her eyes closed.

“...Is she hurt?” Monty asked quietly.

“Yeah. Look,” Raven said, pointing to the rip on her exposed thigh, and he leaned forward.

However, Raven’s brows pulled together as she leaned in as well to look at the wound.

“Is that... _black_?” Monty asked, and Raven nodded.

“Yeah...” she trailed off, trying to wrack her brain for an explanation, and suddenly she looked up at Monty with wide eyes.

“What?” he asked with uncertainty and worry.

“The first AI chip that Becca invented could only be used with a genetic marker that was said to have made the person’s blood turn black until they figured out a way to make others without using the marker...” she said, her mind reeling.

Suddenly, they saw a car drive up at the intersection at end of the road, but thankfully it turned away from them and continued driving.

“Let’s hurry and get her in the car,” Raven said, and they bent down to pick her up, trying to be careful of her wound.

“ _..._ _Hou...”_ she lightly groaned, and her eyes fluttered open for a moment, causing them to freeze, until they closed again, and when she didn’t move for a few seconds, Raven nodded at Monty, and they both scooped her up once more.

They quickly carried her to the car before anyone else could come along and see them, and Raven managed to get the back door open. As carefully as they could, they put her inside, and then got back in.

“Now, where do we take her?” Monty asked, not having thought this far.

“I don’t think we should take her to either of our places,” Raven said, and Monty frowned.

“Why not?”

“Because the security guards and workers saw our faces. They’re more than likely going to try to track us down along with everyone else who was there, and ask questions.”

“Great,” Monty sighed, and looked back at the unconscious girl, trying to wrack his brain. “So...where do we put her then?”

“What about Octavia and Lincoln’s place? It’s pretty decent sized,” Raven said, but Monty shook his head.

“Did you forget Bellamy just joined the police academy? What if he goes over there to visit and sees her? It’s too risky,” he warned, and Raven frowned.

“What about Jasper? He lives furthest from the city.”

“Uhh, no. He lives in an open studio apartment. Why do you think I didn’t move in with him?” he asked, and Raven lightly chuckled.

“Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking...” She shook her head as they continued to drive, and then perked up. “Oh! I know!” she said excitedly and rather loudly, and quickly looked back to make sure the girl hadn’t woken up, but thankfully she was still unconscious. She lowered her voice to an excited whisper. “Clarke lives alone! We’ll put her there for now until we can figure out how to fix this.”

“Yeah,” Monty nodded, sitting up. “That should work! She lives in her grandparents’ old place, right?” he asked, and Raven nodded.

“Yup, so she has all of that extra space. Plus, I’m pretty sure she knows how to fix up a wound—I mean, her mom _is_ a doctor after all.” She smiled, finally finding some kind of relief to all of this madness, and she turned down a road to head straight to her closest friend’s place.

 

“ _Canyouhidesomeoneforafewdays?”_

“I’m sorry, what?” Clarke stared at them as they stood at her front door.

“Can you hi—“

“— _watch_ —“ Monty interrupted with an elbow into Raven’s side, causing her to falter for a second.

“— _watch_ someone for us for a few days?” she asked with the best innocent smile she could muster.

Clarke stared at them with confusion for a second, and then tilted her head. “You mean...like a kid?” she asked, and they both looked at each other with uncertainty.

“She’ll be fine in the car, right?” Raven then asked Monty.

“You locked it?” he asked, and Raven nodded before turning to Clarke again, thinking on how to approach this...odd subject.

“What? What’s going on?” she asked with a mixture of concern and confusion, staring hard at Raven.

“Uhm...Have you been watching the news at all?” she then asked lightly.

“...No.” Clarke shook her head, and then crossed her arms, becoming more and more suspicious of the two as they looked to each other again.

“Could we come in for a minute?”

 

Clarke sat there staring at them for a long silent moment, unsure of what to even say.

“Is this some kind of joke?” she finally asked. “Because honestly...I don’t get it.” She shook her head, and they sighed.

“ _No_ , we’re being serious right now,” Monty said sternly, and Clarke stared at them again, before she suddenly started laughing.

“Clarke!” Raven said angrily, and she tried to suppress her laughter.

“Okay, okay, so let me get this straight...You somehow managed to sneak into a restricted section of the Science Center without _anyone_ seeing you, poked around in some stuff you _shouldn’t_ have, and then somehow managed to _successfully_   turn on a machine just at the _exact_ same time as lightning struck the building that brought some apocalyptic girl from another dimension—“

“—parallel universe,” Monty quickly interjected.

“—Right, _parallel universe_ to our world, who attacked people with amazing strength and speed, _with a sword_ , and she managed to get passed the security guards and flee from the cops, and you _just so happen_ to find her lying unconscious in the street and have her in the back seat of your car, and you came here to ask me to hide her for you while you try to find a way to send her back?” she asked, staring at the two of them, and they nodded with seriousness deep on their faces, and she suddenly started laughing again.

“Clarke!” Raven said angrily again. “We are being serious here! She’s out there!” She pointed.

“ _Right._ Okay. Did you guys hit the bar _before_ or _after_ the Science Center?” she asked, still giggling.

“Wait,” Monty said, who had pulled up his phone and was typing something. “ _Look_ ,” he said, holding his phone out to see.

Her and Raven both looked to see he had pulled up _YouTube_ , and they watched a video that looked like someone had recorded it from their own phone.

Clarke watched as there was this strange girl with a sword, exactly as they had describe, standing in front of a group of security guards in the Science Center, and her brows slowly pulled together as she watched the rather terrifying scene unfold. She heard the shouting, and slightly pulled back as she watched the girl swipe at one of the guards, who fell over and began to bleed.

“Oh my god...” she whispered, and they watched as the shaky video captured the girl running into the guard and smashing through the window with more yells and screams.

The person recording the video raced out along with the others as the girl ran, and zoomed in as she ran out on the street, nearly being hit by a car.

Clarke looked over at Raven with hard confused eyes, who nodded her head with tight features, and they looked back to keep watching the interaction with the cops.

They saw her flee and heard the pop of the gun, and the video ended when a guard approached the camera person and told them to quit filming, placing their hand over the camera lens.

They all sat there silently for a moment, Clarke’s mind suddenly going over everything they had just said to her, trying to make sense of it all.

“ _Now_ do you believe us?” Monty asked harshly, and Clarke stared at them, one side of her shocked, and the other side telling her this was all some sort of prank, and she sat back with her arms crossed.

“I have to see her to believe this,” she said, her skeptical side winning, and they both looked at each other.

“We’ll bring her in.”

 

 

“W-What... _How_?” she asked in disbelief, staring at the strange girl from the video now lying on her couch, and they both shrugged.

“It has to be because of the storm. As far as we know, Becca couldn’t find a source of energy powerful enough to use the machine successfully on demand.” Raven shook her head. “But what we don’t know is why it brought _her_.”

“I’m thinking it’s some sort of, ‘Right Time, Right Place’ kind of effect,” Monty said. “They had to have had the same storm going on in their world, and she just so happen to be right in the exact spot the lightning struck...or where the machine opened up the portal.”

“But how would that bring her here?” Clarke asked, still finding this hard to believe even after all of the evidence they have shown her, including said girl.

“I’m thinking it has something to do with that AI chip somehow. She has black blood,” Raven said, and Clarke’s brows pulled together.

“Black blood? Is she hurt?” she asked, and Raven nodded, pulling back the long dark cloak she wore, showing the wound in her thigh.

“Well!” Clarke said urgently, and they stared at her with slight confusion. “Get her some help! Take her to the damn hospital!” she nearly shouted.

“Shh!” Monty ushered, looking worriedly at the girl, but she remained still, and he pushed Clarke back into her kitchen.

“We can’t...” Raven said quietly.

“Why not?” Clarke asked, slight irritation in her tone, and Raven looked to Monty.

“Explain the _Planet of the Apes_ thing,” she said with a sigh as she leaned against the counter, and Clarke stood there and listened as he began to explain it to her.

She stared at the both of them again.

“So that’s why you brought her here. So _I_ could fix her up and hide her while you two try to figure this out?” she asked disbelievingly, and they both nodded.

“Yes...” Raven said sheepishly.

“W-Wha—No.” Clarke suddenly shook her head. “ _No_. I-I mean...I might be able to help, but I can’t keep her _here_ ,” she said, shaking her head again, and they frowned.

“Why not?” Monty asked, and Clarke sighed.

“Because in a week my mom and my brother are coming to stay with me while the house gets remodeled, and then I’m going to be staying with them to help paint!” she nearly shouted, and they shushed her once more. “How am I going to hide her and have them stay here at the same time?” she asked.

They quickly tried to think of a solution, until Raven perked up.

“We can train her,” she said, and the two looked at her with even more disbelief and confusion that was already suffocating the room.

“ _What.”_

“Yeah.” Raven nodded, pushing off of the counter. “We can try to explain everything to her when she wakes up, and then we can train her to be normal and like...I dunno, your roommate or girlfriend or something!” she said excitedly, and even Monty looked skeptical.

“ _What?_   No.” Clarke shook her head vigorously.

“Come on, it could work!” Raven encouraged, but Clarke shook her head again.

“No way. _I_   barely even understand any of this. How is _she_ going to?”

“ _And_ we also don’t know if she even understands English,” Monty spoke up. “How are we supposed to explain this to her?” he asked, and Clarke nodded in agreement while Raven glared at him.

“Not to mention she’s a _dangerous psycho killer_!”

“ _No_ , she hasn’t killed anyone.” Monty shook his head, and Clarke glared at him this time, causing him to shrink away from her with a worried look. “But yes...dangerous,” he agreed, and Raven smacked his arm, causing him to shrink back away from her in fear.

“Shut up,” she said to him, and looked to Clarke. “I think she does know English, actually.”  
“How?” they asked her.

“ _Well_ , if you saw in the video, they told her to toss her weapon and put her hands behind her head, _and she did_. Which tells me she at least understands English,” she said, and they couldn’t disagree, having witnessed it themselves.

“But what if she attacks us when she wakes up?” Clarke asked nervously, leaning over to peer into her living room to make sure the girl was still sleeping.

They thought for a moment, until Raven looked at Clarke with a smirk.

“You still have those pink fluffy handcuffs I bought you for your twenty first?”

Clarke stared at her in disbelief.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm really happy to know that people are liking this and excited to read more! It's really great motivation. :D  
> With that said, this chapter may be a little shorter and not too much going on, but I'm really pushing to just keep on writing this and not letting it get set aside like the rest of my stories. -_- lol.  
> So, I hope you guys enjoy this quick chapter!

Clarke couldn’t believe she was helping carry some strange girl, who supposedly came from another world, to the guest bedroom, to handcuff her to the headboard of the bed so she wouldn’t be able to attack them, to explain this bizarre happening, _hoping_ that she understood, and then convince her not only to stay in hiding while her two friends try to figure out how to send her back, but also to pretend to be like an everyday person.

...What did she just get herself into?

She still had a million questions buzzing through her head like: Where did she learn to fight like that? What was her name? Did she have family? How old was she? Why was her blood black if she was from ‘another world’?

“Easy,” Raven said as they gently laid her on the bed, being careful of the wound. Clarke had put a tight bandage over it for now, because the last thing they needed was for the girl to wake up right in the middle of stitching. They had also taken off her shoulder armor, which was surprisingly heavy, and her coat, as well as searched her for more weapons, removing a large dagger, a few smaller blades tucked in various spots, and her sword so she couldn't get to them.

Once they got her on the bed, Raven turned to Clarke.

“Handcuffs?” she asked, and Clarke glanced awkwardly at Monty for a second, before she pulled them from her back pocket and handed them over. Raven cuffed one wrist, and then wove it through the metal bar to cuff the other. “There, that should do it,” she said with a nod, as if all of this were normal, and they stood there silently, staring at the unconscious girl. It looked rather silly.

“So, uhh…do we wait for her to wake up, or…?” Monty trailed off, and they all looked at each other.

“Uhm, I think I have smelling salts in the first aid kit my mom gave me,” Clarke said, and went to retrieve it from the closet.

She came back with the kit, pulling out the smelling salt, and stared at the other two uncomfortably, waiting to see who was going to wake her up. Did they really want to wake this girl though?

“Well...go ahead.” Raven volunteered Clarke with a smile, and she shot her a look.

“You brought her here, _you_   wake her up,” she quipped, holding out the smelling salt.

“Uhh...it was Monty’s idea to get her,” Raven said, pushing Clarke’s hand towards him, and he glared at her.

“Fine,” he grumbled, and took the smelling salt, slowly approaching the side of the bed. He looked at the other two nervously. “Uhm...ready?”

“Wait!” Raven quickly said, and she looked around, before grabbing a decorative wooden giraffe, holding it firmly upside down around its long neck, and she nodded. “Okay, ready.”

He slowly leaned forward, swallowing hard as he held it under her nose, and prepared to crush it while the other two waited anxiously.

Nearly a full minute had gone by.

“Monty!” Raven suddenly said, causing him and Clarke to jump.

“Jesus, Raven! _What?_ ” he asked, pulling back and looking to her.

“Hurry up,” she said impatiently, and he sent her a deathly glare.

“ _Sorry_. It’s not every day you try to wake up a dangerous, sword-wielding stranger from another world,” he said angrily, and moved back over the girl, holding the ampule under her nose again.

He took a deep breath, and then crushed it.

Immediately, the girl’s eyes shot open as she flinched back with a disgusted face, and she looked wildly around until her eyes landed on them.

Unexpectedly, a foot went flying into Monty's face.

“Ow! Shit!” He stumbled back away from her, holding the side of his face as the other two jumped back, and the girl hissed in pain from swinging her leg.

She tried to get up, only to get jerked back, and she quickly looked at the neon pink fluffy handcuffs in confusion. She looked at them once more before sitting up more on the bed, her face scrunched in pain and anger, and she began tugging on her arms hard, causing the bed to shake.

“Calm down! Just calm down!” Clarke tried, holding her arms up, trying to show the girl they meant no harm, but the girl winced in pain again as she moved, struggling to break free from the cuffs.

Immediately, Clarke noticed the bandage starting to become soaked with her strange black blood as she moved, and she knew the girl would probably pass out again from losing more.

“We have to get her to calm down,” she told the other two, and they nodded.

“We—know—you—understand—English! We—are—trying—to—help—you!” Raven said slowly and loudly, pointing to all three of them. “Under—stand?” she asked loudly, and the girl stared at her for a moment, and then tugged hard on the cuffs again.

“STOP!—WE—WANT—TO—HELP—“

“—Raven!” Clarke grabbed her arm. “ _Stop._ She's scared, not deaf,” she said with irritation, pushing her aside, and she held her hands out again. “Calm down, _please_. You're injured. We just want to help you. Do you understand what I'm saying?” she asked calmly, and the girl glanced at her only for a moment before she continued to try to tug on the metal bar, eventually ignoring her. She winced in pain again as she moved her leg, and Clarke frowned as she noticed a light glint of sweat on her face.

“Does it hurt?” she asked, slowly reaching out towards her leg, and the girl pulled it away, staring her down with predatory eyes. “Please,” Clarke tried again, and then turned and grabbed the medical kit, holding it up. “I just want to help,” she said calmly, and the girl stopped pulling on the cuffs, breathing heavily. She watched Clarke as she set the kit down and opened it, pulling out the bandages and supplies to show her. “Please. Let me fix you before you lose more blood or get an infection.”

She stared at her for a moment longer, and Clarke tried once more to reach out, but the girl pulled away again, trying not to wince at the pain, and then slumped against the headboard staring down at nothing with a stolid face and a clenched jaw.

They all looked at each other with confusion and slight defeat.

“What do we do?” Monty asked with uncertainty, and they all stayed silent for a moment, wracking their brains for some way to help her, until Clarke had a thought.

“You want them to leave?” she suddenly asked, pointing to the two before pointing to the door. “I can make them go away if you let me fix you up, because you're losing too much blood and you know it,” she said, and after a moment, the girl glanced up at her. Clarke could see a little less defiance in her eyes this time, though she still said nothing, and she looked to them both expectantly.

“—What? _No_ , what if she tries to attack you?” Raven asked defensively.

“Right now, I'm holding bandages and you're holding a wooden giraffe weapon. You're posing as a threat to her,” Clarke said, and then swallowed slightly hard. “I'll be fine. Plus, you should go check the news, make sure nothing else has happened, and get some ice for Monty's face.”

“Clarke,” Raven said, but Monty spoke up.

“She's right. We were there when the guards first attacked. She probably thinks we're with them,” he said, and Raven glared at him.

“I need to get her to let me fix her,” Clarke pressed on, and Raven stared hard at the two, before she finally sighed.

“ _Fine_ ,” she said, lowering the wooden giraffe. “Holler if _anything_   happens,” she warned as she and Monty began to head out of the room. “You know, I was kind of excited to wake her. I thought this would be like _The Fifth Element_   or something...”

“Leeloo still attacked people when she woke up in the movie, you know,” Monty said as they finally left the room.

Clarke looked back towards the girl, who still watched her with intense eyes. She figured instead of trying to work on her right away, she should probably try to gain a little bit of trust, first.

“I'm sorry about all of this. Must be scary.” She frowned at her with sympathy. “My name is Clarke, by the way,” she said, taking a chance and slowly sitting on the bed next to her, and the girl watched her. She then put a hand to her chest. “Clarke.”

She waited for the girl to speak, to at least to say her name back, but she remained silent. Clarke gently sighed.

“I know you understand for the most part—at least I'm pretty sure you do, and I would understand why you wouldn't want to speak, but we all really just want to help you get back,” she said sincerely.

Silence.

“I know Raven can seem like a bit much, but she really does have a good heart. She wants to help you. Same with Monty.”

Clarke watched her, but again, silence.

“Alright,” she sighed, turning to the medical kit. “But just so you know,” she began to pull out more supplies to fix her up, “we can't help you if you don't say anything.”

The girl watched her silently, and Clarke figured she wasn't going to get any further, but maybe if she just continued to talk to her, she could get the girl to open up.

“I'm sorry about the silly handcuffs, too,” she lightly chuckled as she pulled out a cleansing solution, soaking a clean cloth with it. “It was the only thing we could think of, because we didn't want you to run.” She then looked up at the girl, holding the cloth, and then slowly began to reach forward.

The girl slightly pulled away, and Clarke pulled back with a slight frown.

“I need to clean it.” She nodded to her thigh. “It will get infected.”

The girl glanced at her thigh for a moment, her jaw working, and then looked down. Clarke slowly reached forward again, being slow and cautious with her movements, and this time, the girl didn't move. She carefully grabbed the bandage she had put on before, and gently began to peel it off. She then began to clean the area, and her eyes glanced up at the girl as she heard her take a sharp intake of breath, tensing up.

“Sorry.”

She was rather pretty, given she had what Clarke assumed was black warpaint or something, which only made the intense green of her eyes stand out more. She had a sharp jawline and high cheek bones, and an earthy brown tone, telling Clarke that she was probably out in the sun a lot. She noticed the intricate braids of her hair, and her eyes landed on the symbol between her brows, which upon closer inspection looked like a little metal gear, and her curiosity sparked.

“Does that mean something?” she asked, pointing to her own forehead.

Again, silence.

“It looks neat,” Clarke said lightly, and then leaned in to inspect the wound now that she could see it properly, but it was still bleeding. She made a face at the girl. “I was afraid you were going to need stitches,” she said, and set the black stained cloth back on the wound, quickly beginning to prepare a needle.

Once she got the medical thread through, she turned to start, but the girl pulled away and Clarke sighed. “You know I have to,” she said, but the girl watched her intensely again, keeping her leg turned away. Clarke wondered how she was going to talk this girl into letting her stitch her up.

Suddenly, she had a dangerous—maybe even stupid—idea.

She reached into her pocket with her free hand while keeping the cloth pressed to the wound, and held up the keys to the cuffs. The girl looked up with wondering eyes.

“How about this,” she tried a different approach, maybe hoping this would get the girl to ease up, “You tell me your name, and I'll let one hand free. Fair?” she asked, and waited. The girl's eyes darted away in thought for a moment. “Just your name, that's all.” She smiled, and sat up more. “Here, I'll go again. My name is Clarke,” she said, and waited with an expectant look, hoping this girl would give in. She really did just want to help her.

A silent moment passed.

Clarke sighed again, and wondered how she was going to try to figure out how to do this, when finally the girl spoke.

“Lexa,” she said quietly, her features no longer holding a threatening glare, and Clarke stared at her for a moment as the girl looked at her. She realized just how young she looked. She must have been around their age, and it made Clarke wonder even more.

Just what kind of life did she live?

“Lexa? That's nice.” She smiled gently.

She set the needle and thread aside, and slowly, she reached over towards the cuffs. The girl, Lexa, watched her carefully, and Clarke waited a moment, but the girl sat still. She took a silent deep breath and unlocked the one around her wrist, but she quickly relocked the free cuff around the metal bar, and sat back, waiting.

The girl still just sat there, and relief filled Clarke.

“There.” She smiled at her, feeling like she was finally making progress, and turned to grab the needle again. “Now, Lexa, I'm going to—“

Suddenly, Lexa lunged forward.

Clarke didn't even get a chance to call out as they fell back on the bed because unexpectedly, she felt Lexa's hand wrap around her throat, closing off her airway.

Clarke grabbed onto her hand with her free one while trying not to let the key go from the other as she pushed on her, attempting to pry her fingers loose, but the girl had her hand locked onto her throat with surprising strength. She stared up at her with wide surprised eyes as she couldn't breathe.

“L-Le—“ she tried to get out, but it was too hard to speak.

“ _Moba,”_ Lexa said calmly and almost with what seemed like apologetic eyes as Clarke started to lose consciousness; the pressure in her head becoming too much.

She was right, it was a stupid idea.

Suddenly, just as she thought she was going to finally pass out, her eyes beginning to roll up and flutter closed, she heard a loud thud, and she gasped in a deep breathe as her throat quickly opened up, and the girl fell off of her. She coughed hard as the oxygen rushed to her head, making her dizzy for a moment, and she grabbed at her tender throat.

She looked up to see Raven standing over them holding the giraffe with confused wide eyes.

“What the hell happened?” she asked as Monty stood near the door looking concerned and worried.

Clarke quickly got off of the bed, coughing still.

“I-I tried...to m-make a compromise,” she sputtered with irritation, her heart racing in her chest as she leaned on the frame of the bed for support.

She heard Raven sigh. “Leave it up to Clarke to put all of her trust into a pretty girl.” She shook her head, and Clarke glared at her.

“Shut up, and help me turn her so I can stitch her up before she wakes up again,” she said angrily, tossing the keys aside and grabbing the needle.

So much for gaining her trust.

 

Once they finished stitching her up, she checked her head to make sure Raven didn't do too much damage, but all she had was a decent bump.

“Alright, let's cuff her up again,” Raven said, going for her free hand, but Clarke shook her head.

“No, she won't trust us if we do that,” she said, and Raven stared at her as if Clarke had just suggested they let her free.

“Did you lose too much oxygen to your brain? Because correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn she _was_ choking you just moments ago,” she said incredulously, and Clarke sighed.

“ _I know_ , but if we lock both hands up again, we're putting ourselves back to square one. If she wakes up and sees that we fixed her and still allowed her one hand, then maybe she won't think we're so bad,” she said sternly, and they stared hard at each other for a moment.

“You know, maybe she's right—“

“— _Shut up_ , Monty. I know,” Raven said with irritation, and shook her head at the fact that she was giving in. “Fine. Let's just...get anything she can use as a weapon away from her.”

Once they checked that she couldn't reach anything, they stared at her sleeping form for a moment, before heading back out to the kitchen area.

“So...what do we do now?” Monty asked as they sat down, holding the pack of ice to his face where there was a red mark that was surely going to bruise later.

“I guess just wait until she wakes up again.” Raven shrugged, leaning back in the chair.

“She told me her name,” Clarke spoke up, and the two looked at her with slight surprise.

“She did?”

“Yeah.” Clarke nodded. “That was the compromise because she wouldn't let me stitch her. Her name is Lexa.”

“Interesting name,” Raven noted. “Just...don't free her other arm if she says she'll give you a kiss or something,” she said, and Clarke glared at her.

“Shut up.”

“Oh come on, you can't deny she's pretty for a dangerous apocalyptic killer.” She smirked, and Clarke rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything to that. She checked the time, noticing it was starting to get late into the evening.

“That reminds me, how do you think we're going to get her to agree to 'acting normal' if she won't even speak or let us help her? Or of the possibility that she doesn't even speak English?” Clarke asked, and they all became silent.

“We just gotta keep trying. Surely if we explain it all to her, whether she understands it or not, maybe she'll finally realize we're really just trying to help her,” Monty said with hope. “And...maybe we can teach her some words or something?” he said with uncertainty.

“Or you could just say she doesn't speak?” Raven suggested with a smile, and Clarke raised a brow at her, and then sighed.

“Well, if not, I'm sorry but you guys are going to have to try to find her a new place to stay. I can't have her here with my mom and my brother if she's just going to keep attacking everyone. It's too dangerous,” she said, and the other two looked hesitant.

“Fair,” Raven said with a nod. “Just...can you keep her until then? And if she doesn't calm down or cooperate before they come, we'll try to find a place for her,” she said, and Clarke made a face, thinking it over.

“Fine,” she sighed, and sat back, gently rubbing her neck and wondering just what was going to happen the next time she woke up.

Suddenly, she looked back at the two curiously, a thought coming to her head.

“Just how do you two plan on fixing this again?”

They looked to each other before they looked at her sheepishly.

“Uhh...”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, work has been keeping me so busy lately, but here's another quick chapter to keep the ball rolling! Hopefully it's not too short or boring, or going too fast for that matter, but I hope you all enjoy it :)

“So...you're going to try to rebuild Becca Pramheda's 'space travel' machine thing?” Clarke asked the two with furrowed brows, and they both nodded, even though _they_ looked uncertain about it.

“I mean...it shouldn't be _too_ hard. She built it _years_ ago. Technology has come a long way since then,” Raven said, trying to sound encouraging as Monty nodded.

“Well...why has no one else done it, then?” Clarke asked, trying not to diminish their hope, but she was just trying to look at this from all angles.

“I think because they just couldn't get enough energy to make it work properly, and if I remember correctly, they wanted her to focus just on the AI chip instead because it was such a big breakthrough, so that idea got pushed aside,” Raven said with a shrug.

“Well, we have the idea now, and we did it once. We can do it again,” Monty said firmly, and they nodded in agreement.

“We just need to build one as quick as we can, and then wait for another strong lightning storm from my guess,” Raven said, and suddenly she yawned, slumping lower in her seat.

“Uhm...so how should we do this? I don't think we should leave one person—err, Clarke, to watch after her alone,” Monty then said warily, looking down in the direction of the hall to the guest bedroom.

“Well, I guess you guys are staying here, then.” Clarke shrugged as Raven yawned again. “I can take first watch if you guys want to catch some sleep. It's been a long night, already,” she said, but Raven shook her head.

“No, we should start looking into what supplies we need, and check the weather,” she said, and Monty sighed gently.

“Yeah...”

“I'll get the coffee pot going, then,” Clarke said, standing up, and the two pulled out their phones, and the notes and papers Monty had managed to grab from the Science Center, to start their research.

 

 

It felt like a great deal of time had passed, and they had moved to the living room where they were slowly forming a list of things, possibilities, notes of their own, and supposed days for storms. Clarke mostly did the weather research, only because she had no idea of any of the supplies and tools and things Raven and Monty were discussing, but when they brought up the possibility of 'geomagnetic storms' or something playing a factor, Clarke just mostly listened.

Soon, they were all yawning, despite each having a cup of coffee.

“That's it, I can't see straight anymore.” Raven shook her head, yawning for the fifteenth time, and lied down on the carpeted floor right where she was sitting.

“Yeah,” Monty sighed, rubbing his tired eyes as he slumped back on the couch.

“Let me grab some pillows and blankets. We should all probably stay out here since it's closest to the door,” Clarke said, and Raven nodded, pulling the wooden giraffe closer to her as she shut her eyes. Clarke shook her head and got up to get said things from her small hallway closet. She was trying to be quiet and didn't dare turn on the hallway light, so it took her a few moments to find what she was looking for, but before she left, she stole a glance into the guest bedroom where the door was only left cracked open, but all she could see were Lexa's legs.

She felt bad for her and hoped that when Lexa woke again, she would be more calm and cooperative. They really just wanted her to see that they were just trying to help.

She finally headed back to the living room to find Monty already lying on the couch, using his arm as a pillow, and Raven's eyes closed as she still lied on the floor, seeming to have fallen asleep already.

She laid the blanket out over Monty, who gently moved before becoming still again, and then bent down to Raven.

“Hey,” she whispered, gently nudging her. “Want to move to the other couch?” she asked, but Raven simply mumbled.

“Don't take my wrench...”

Clarke chuckled lightly as she carefully placed the pillow under Raven's head, who turned over on her side, and once she draped the blanket over her, she was back to sleep; breathing heavily.

She got up to shut off the overhead light at the end of the hall, leaving a lamp on just in case, and glanced down towards the guest room again, but still, all she could see were the girl's legs, and headed back to the coffee table. She gathered the papers together, putting them into stacked categories, picked up the coffee cups to take them to the sink, and then figured she should actually go in and check on Lexa since it had been a while.

Before she did however, she grabbed a bottle of water from her fridge, and then wondered if she would be hungry. She looked through the kitchen, wondering what the girl would even want to eat.

What _did_   they eat in her world? Did they have food like them? Or did they live off of the land?

She made a face as she stood there in her kitchen, her eyes roaming around until they landed on the bananas resting on the counter top, and figured that was the best option to go for.

She quietly and carefully headed towards the guest room, and suddenly she felt more awake as her heart started to pick up slightly. She hesitated by the door, glancing back towards the living room for a moment, and decided that she should just give it a try and keep a decent distance between her and the girl, and with a deep breath, she carefully opened the door.

Her eyes were still closed, and Clarke slowly stepped in.

“Hey...” she whispered out into the air, but the girl didn't move. “Are you awake?”

She always felt like that was a dumb question to ask someone who seemed to be asleep, but she just wanted to see if the girl really was still unconscious, or if she were simply lying there faking it.

In the same breath, she knew she needed to try to wake her soon anyway, given the fact that Raven had knocked her out good with that wooden giraffe, and she didn't want the possibility of the girl never waking up.

As she quietly and carefully approached the bed, she wondered how she would be able to tell if Lexa was faking it or not, and with a timid finger, she reached out while still standing a few good steps away, and poked her shin before quickly pulling back and standing still, watching her.

She didn't move.

She tried it again, slightly harder this time, but not enough to move her too much, and again, the girl remained still.

She decided she should check her wound, just to make sure her stitch was holding up and to check for any sign of swelling, or...redness? Would it be red if it was infected? Or dark because she had black blood?

This only made her more curious to look.

She watched Lexa intently, and then gently reached out and began to carefully pull the bandage back, her eyes continuously darting towards her face, but her eyes remained closed. She then leaned in to get a closer look when she pulled the bandage back just far enough, and felt relief as it seemed to be doing alright. She never thought she would need to know how to stitch a wound, but thank goodness her mother taught her basic first aid, and she slightly admired her work.

She began to inspect the girl's dark and worn clothes. They didn't seem dirty, just...very much well-used and faded. She looked like some kind of warrior or fighter, with leather straps and such covering certain areas, a black fingerless glove covering one hand, leather forearm coverings, and not to mention that giant shoulder armor they took off, all of her weapons, and the black warpaint on her face. Her boots looked equally worn, and Clarke finally noticed dried mud markings and pieces of dried dead plants in the grooves. Maybe she lived in a forested area?

However, she froze when she had glanced up again and was met with a pair of striking green eyes staring right back at her.

“Uhm,” she cleared her throat, feeling the tenderness of it again, and let go, taking a step back. “I was just...checking,” she said awkwardly, but also relieved that the girl hadn't fallen into a coma or anything, and she looked around the room for a moment as Lexa continued to stare.

_Jeez she doesn't blink much._ Clarke thought to herself, and she glanced down at the water and the banana in her hand, and then looked up.

“Are you hungry? Or thirsty?” she asked, holding up the items, but Lexa just stared at her with those intense eyes and that stoical face. “I don't know if you like bananas, or...if you have them where you're from or anything like it, but they're really good,” Clarke rambled a bit with a soft chuckle. “It's fruit.”

Lexa could have been mistaken for a statue or a mannequin in Clarke's opinion, because her face didn't change, and Clarke felt herself only becoming more awkward in the silence.

“I'll just uh...leave them here,” she said, beginning to move forward to set the items on the nightstand, and Lexa sat up slightly, using her arm to pull herself up as her injured leg relaxed out, watching her.

Clarke hesitated, feeling the tension thick in the air, and then slowly set the banana down, watching Lexa as well. She then saw her eyes glance towards the water, and Clarke could see her swallow, and she wondered if she was in fact thirsty.

“Do you...want some water?” she asked before she had set the water down, and carefully held it out towards her, but Lexa pulled back slightly, staring at the plastic bottle with what seemed like mild confusion and concern. “It's alright. It's safe,” Clarke tried, holding it out just a bit further, but Lexa slightly tilted her face away, her brows lightly pulled together, and Clarke realized she probably didn't trust it.

She thought for a moment, and then decided the best way to convince her it was harmless was to show her.

“Here,” she said, opening it up, and she took a decent drink before holding it out again with a light smile and a nod. “See? It's safe.”

Lexa stared at her for a moment, then towards the bottle, and Clarke nodded again, encouraging her. Relief and happiness filled her as Lexa finally and slowly began to reach for it. She stretched her hand out further without getting too close, and Lexa took it, bringing it closer to hold it with both hands, staring intently into it, and if Clarke wasn't mistaken, she was certain she was discreetly smelling it.

Finally, she put it to her lips, and as she took a sip and waited a moment, tasting it, she blinked a few times, her features becoming slightly softer and perhaps even surprised.

_Maybe she had never had purified water before._ Clarke thought to herself, watching her.

She put the bottle to her mouth again and tipped it, slowly going from casually drinking, to nearly chugging half of it down, and Clarke chuckled lightly, causing Lexa to stop and pull the bottle away, looking up at Clarke with slight confusion as she wiped her mouth; her brows pulled low.

“I'm sorry,” Clarke said, looking down, and then felt awkward all over again. “I'll just...leave,” she said, beginning to step towards the door, but stopped, turning back to Lexa with slight determination. “You know, we're not bad people. We really are just trying to help you,” she said, and still, Lexa remained silent. She gently sighed. “We're not trying to hold you captive,” she began, but Lexa glanced toward her handcuffed wrist before looking at her again. “— _Despite_ what it looks like. We just didn't want you to run. There are people out there looking for you, who _want_  to lock you up.”

Lexa looked down for a moment, as if taking this in, and looked back up with skeptical eyes. Clarke tried to think, and then reached in her back pocket for her phone, an idea coming to mind.

“Here, let me show you,” she said, searching for a news video of what had happened, and held the phone out towards Lexa, who pulled back slightly as a video began to play. “Look.”

She watched Lexa stare at the phone with slightly round and curious eyes, and she assumed she had never seen anything like this before, but she stayed quiet to allow her to watch.

“ _...early this evening. Authorities are not sure why or what the motive was, but from the information they have gathered, she appears to be uncooperative and dangerous. Authorities are warning not to approach her if you see her, and to call in immediately. Now, we have video of the young woman from a bystander who was actually in the Polis Science Center where things first took place. We warn you, there is some graphic violence in this video. Please watch at your own discretion...”_

The video began to play the scene out again, and Lexa finally looked away, clenching her jaw slightly. This made Clarke curious, and she decided to stop the video, wondering if Lexa actually felt bad about what had happened, or if she was angry.

“So, you see? They're looking for you out there, which is why you can't leave because they will lock you up and interrogate—err, question you, and who know what else when they discover you speak an entirely different language and have black blood, or if they somehow find out you're not from... _here_ ,” Clarke said almost desperately, trying to get her to understand. “But _we_ want to get you back to where you came from. We want to get you back home,” she said, and waited to see if Lexa was finally going to acknowledge, or understand, or even speak to her.

A silent moment passed as Lexa continued to stare at the bed, and Clarke decided it was finally time to give up for tonight. She would just have to try again in the morning, and gently sighed with disappointment, turning to leave.

“Sorry.”

She stopped in her tracks just by the door and looked back, unsure if she had actually heard her, or if her mind was playing tricks on her because Lexa was still staring off to the side.

“Did you...say something?” she asked curiously, and Lexa finally looked back up at her.

“I am sorry,” she said— _fluently_ —in a smooth quiet voice, and her eyes glanced towards Clarke's neck for a moment, before she looked back up towards her eyes.

Clarke stared at her with a bit of surprise. “So, you do speak English,” she said, taking a few steps back towards her, and then sat down on her grandma's old wooden hope chest that was against the wall. “Why didn't you say anything before?” she asked curiously.

Lexa looked away again, her eyes roaming the bed for a moment as if she were trying to find the right words spread across the comforter. “I did not trust you.”

“But you do now?” Clarke asked hopeful, and almost a little too eagerly.

“Not quite,” she said, looking up at her with hard eyes. “I am still chained to your bed.”

“I guess that makes us both not quite trustful, then,” Clarke said slowly with a light shrug, raising her brows at Lexa.

“I said I was sorry.” Lexa clenched her jaw slightly. “I was not trying to kill you.”

“Well, that makes me feel better...I think,” she said with a light chuckle following after, and as she looked up, she could have sworn there was a small smile on Lexa's lips before she looked away.

“Will you unchain me?” she then asked lightly, looking back up, and Clarke made a face.

“I don't know...” she said honestly, and she was ready for her to become angry again, but surprisingly Lexa nodded.

“I understand.”

Clarke lightly frowned. “But I mean...when I feel like I can trust you, I will,” she said sincerely with a nod.

“Where am I?” Lexa asked, looking around the room.

“Well...you're in Polis,” she began slowly. “And this is my house.”

However, Lexa looked confused. “This is not Polis.”

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked, tilting her head slightly.

“ _I_   live in Polis. This is not Polis.” She shook her head.

“Oh, right.” Clarke nodded. “That's the thing...uhm, from what Monty and Raven are saying, you are...uhh...from a different world than this one.”

Lexa stared at her, and Clarke could see the gears in her mind working, trying to figure out what she meant.

“I know, it's hard to believe,” Clarke chuckled lightly. “But from all that has happened so far, even I'm starting to really believe it.”

“How did I get here?” she then asked, and Clarke scratched her head.

“Uhh...You might have to wait for Monty and Raven to explain that. It's something to do with Becca Pramheda's 'travel machine' thing,” she said with uncertainty, but Lexa looked at her with slightly round eyes.

“You know _Bekka Pramheda_?” she asked, sitting up slightly, but Clarke made a face again.

“Err...no. I know of her, but she lived a long time ago. She's...not alive anymore,” she said, and Lexa sat back again, nodding.

“She is not alive in...'my world', either.”

Clarke then looked at her outfit again, and her curiosity grew. “What is your world like?”

Lexa seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if contemplating whether she should tell Clarke or not, and she finally spoke. “Different. There are more trees and earth.”

“So, you do live in a forest then,” Clarke noted, trying to keep it one question at a time, but Lexa shook her head.

“I used to, but I live in Polis now. _My_   Polis. It is our city, but not like...this place,” she said, and Clarke nodded.

“Do you...have electricity?” Clarke then asked, and Lexa looked slightly confused.

“What is elec-tricity?”

“Uhm...this,” Clarke said, pointing to the light, and wondered how she could explain it better, because Lexa stared up at the light still confused.

“...No. We have fire to light our rooms.”

Clarke nodded, getting a bit of a slightly better idea of how this girl lived.

“If you don't mind me asking...What language where you speaking? I've never heard it before,” she said, feeling like they were _finally_ getting somewhere.

“It is the language of my people.”

“But you speak English so well...” Clarke said with confusion.

“Your language is the language of our enemy. We learn it to understand you,” Lexa then said, and Clarke frowned lightly.

“We are not your enemy.” She shook her head, but she could see the hardness returning to Lexa's face.

“You speak their language, and you use the same weapons. You said your people are trying to capture me, did you not?” she asked with a slight sharpness in her tone, and Clarke looked away, trying to figure out how to explain it.

“They're not... _my_   people. They're just...other people. The ones trying to find you, who use weapons and such are the police,” she said, but Lexa still seemed skeptical.

“Po-lice?”

“Yes...the ones who enforce our laws,” she said, and confusion filled her striking green eyes again, trying to process what Clarke was telling her.

“Who is your clan?”

Clarke's brows pulled together slightly. “Clan? We don't have clans here...not really. Maybe groups,” she said with uncertainty, and Lexa tilted her head. “Uhm, like...friends, or...people who get together who have the same goals and stuff? —Like Zumba for example. They're a force to be reckoned with.” She raised her brows with a light chuckle, remembering the time she tried to join, and that was a no-go.

“...Zumba?” Lexa questioned, and Clarke waved it away.

“It's just a crazy exercise group.”

“Then, you and the other two out there are a group?” Lexa then asked, nodding towards the door, and Clarke chuckled lightly.

“I mean, we're friends. Along with a few others who aren't here. We just usually hang out, drink and play games, or watch movies— _or_ bring people from other dimensions apparently,” she chuckled, and Lexa nodded, though her mind was working again.

“Your world is strange.”

“You can say that again,” Clarke laughed softly, and Lexa looked at her strangely.

“Your world is strange,” she repeated, though seemingly confused to do so, and Clarke chuckled again.

“No, I didn't mean literally.” She smiled, but Lexa only continued to stare at her.

Suddenly, Clarke felt herself begin to blush as she found what Lexa had just done quite adorable, and had to look away, clearing her throat as she could feel her eyes on her. She was very good at staring.

They sat silently for a moment, until Lexa spoke up.

“Clarke,” she said—rather confidently in Clarke's opinion—and she felt an odd sensation run through her at the sound of it off of Lexa's tongue, and looked up. Her slight lack of sleep was not helping her stay focused very well.

“Yes?”

“I have to go,” she said slowly, and Clarke tried not to frown too hard.

“I know. We're trying to figure out a way, I swear, but—” she began when Lexa cut her off.

“—No. I have to _go_...” Her eyes glanced away for a moment before returning to hers. “I have to...relieve myself.”

Clarke stared at her for just a second before it suddenly dawned on her, and her eyebrows rose. _“Oh.”_

She hadn't thought about that.

“Well...uhm...” She looked around, trying to think of what to do.

“I will not try to run, or harm you,” Lexa said sincerely. “I promise.”

Clarke stared at her for a silent moment, unsure if she should believe her or not.

“I am beginning to trust that you are telling me the truth now.” Lexa nodded, her features softer and her eyes no longer guarded.

“How?” Clarke asked, still a bit skeptical.

“Because even though I did attack you earlier, you nor your... _friends_ did not punish me for it. You still fixed my leg, and you still allowed me the freedom of my hand,” Lexa said, and Clarke smiled lightly, feeling internally proud of herself for making that call, but she still hesitated.

She had to make a decision, because she couldn't just let Lexa sit there with a full bladder, but she didn't want to wake her tired friends either…

“You promise?” she asked, looking into her eyes, and Lexa nodded once.

“You have my word, Clarke.”

She bit her lip and glanced towards the door, before looking back to Lexa, who simply stared at her with softer features. Damnit, she liked the way she said her name.

— _Wait, what? Focus_ _Clarke_ _!_   She scolded herself, and she took a deep breath, nodding.

“Alright.”

She stood up and fished the small keys out of her pocket, and then slowly began to approach the bed. Lexa remained still, but Clarke was still tense and ready as she reached out for the handcuff, and hesitated again. She could feel Lexa's eyes on her, and she glanced at her once, before finally unlocking the cuff.

She stepped back and prepared herself for the worst, but Lexa slowly and simply turned herself on the bed, wincing slightly as she set her feet on the floor. She rubbed her wrist for a moment, and then placed her arms on the bed to push herself up. Clarke reached out to help, but Lexa stopped.

“I can do it myself,” she said firmly, and Clarke pulled back, nodding.

“Right,” she said awkwardly, but when Lexa stood up and took a step, she winced again and nearly fell, causing Clarke to reach out and grab her.

Lexa looked up at Clarke with hard eyes as they straightened her up, finding her just an inch taller than Clarke, and she looked away with a clenched jaw.

“It's alright,” Clarke said quietly, and Lexa glanced at her with slight shame in her eyes before nodding, and together, they helped her limp lightly towards the door.

Clarke began to take her further down the hall towards the bathroom, and let her lean against the frame as she turned on the light for her.

“That is electricity?” Lexa asked, looking towards the switch, and Clarke nodded with a bit of a shrug.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“...May I?” Lexa asked, and Clarke was slightly confused, but nodded again.

She watched as Lexa reached out and flipped the switch down, and then up, looking towards the light, before she flipped it off, and then on again, off and on again, and Clarke tried her hardest not to laugh as Lexa stared fixedly at the light.

“How does it work?” she asked, and Clarke's smile dropped.

“Oh, uh...there is electricity that runs through wires up to the light bulb, and that gives it the power to turn on, and, uhh...I don't really know all of the science behind it...” Clarke trailed off awkwardly as Lexa stared at her struggling to explain. “Well, uhm...I'll let you do your business now.” She nodded, and Lexa looked into the bathroom, staring at the toilet.

“There?” she asked, and Clarke nodded.

“Yup.” She smiled, and watched as Lexa limped over towards it, using the sink for support.

“Your people go where you bathe?” she asked with mild concern as she looked towards the tub, and Clarke chuckled.

“I mean...kind of, but that's all the toilet is used for. You just...do your thing, and throw the tissue in there, and push that handle down and that's it.” She shrugged, trying not to feel weird about explaining how to use a toilet to someone near her age, and Lexa slowly nodded. They stood there for a moment, until Clarke felt the awkwardness begin to rise and she finally nodded herself. “—Okay uhm...good luck!” she said with a smile that was too wide, and as soon as she shut the door, she closed her eyes and made a face at herself.

_Good luck? Really?_

She waited outside of the door for some time, feeling rather anxious, and finally, she heard the toilet flush.

“Clarke?” She heard Lexa call out, and suddenly the door opened before she could, revealing wide green eyes staring at her.

“What's wrong?” Clarke asked, looking around the bathroom before looking to her.

“It just...it got sucked down. All of the water,” Lexa said with confusion, lightly shaking her head, and a small chuckle escaped Clarke.

“It's supposed to do that,” she said, and Lexa's mind began working again, before she nodded.

“Oh.”

Clarke smiled, trying not to blush at how adorable she was, and finally shook her head. “Let's get you off of that leg,” she said, and Lexa nodded, allowing Clarke to help her back to the guest room.

They sat her on the bed, and she winced slightly.

“Do you want something for the pain?” Clarke asked, and with a bit of a hesitant face, Lexa nodded.

“I would like that,” she said, and then looked up. “Are you going to chain me again?” she asked, and Clarke stopped.

“Are you going to try to run?” she asked her, and Lexa shook her head gently. Clarke smiled. “Then, no. I'm not. I'll be right back,” she said, and headed out of the room to quickly retrieve some pain pills.

She came back and handed the pills to Lexa, who stared at them in her palm.

“What is it?” she asked, looking up.

“They're...pain pills. You swallow them with water— _don't_ chew them, and they'll ease the pain after a bit.” She nodded, but Lexa only stared at them. “I promise it's safe,” Clarke said sincerely.

Lexa grabbed the water, and glanced at Clarke before she put them in her mouth, and drank the last of her water, swallowing it down.

They sat there silently.

“Uhm, did you want to lie back again?” Clarke asked, and Lexa nodded.

She got up and moved the pillows up against the headboard this time, and then helped Lexa scoot back when suddenly, she heard her stomach growl lightly.

“You can eat that banana if you're hungry,” Clarke said, nodding to it, and Lexa stared at it before she picked it up, looking at it strangely.

“Ba-nan-a?” she asked, looking up. “I have never seen this type of food before.”

“It's a type of fruit. They're really good.” Clarke encouraged with a smile, and watched as Lexa turned it over in her hands before smelling it, and then pulling it back to look at it again.

Suddenly, she brought it up to her mouth to take a bite out of the middle when Clarke nearly shot up, holding her hand out.

“Wait!” she said, and Lexa pulled it back, looking concerned and alert. “Sorry,” Clarke breathed with a light chuckle. “Y-You're supposed to peel it,” she said, and Lexa's brows pulled low.

“Peel it?”

“Here, let me show you,” Clarke said, showing Lexa how to peel the banana. “You eat the inside part, not the skin.”

“Oh...” Lexa said softly, and broke a piece off, feeling it with her fingers, before putting the small piece in her mouth and chewing with a curious face.

Clarke didn't mean to watch her so intently, but she was fascinating to say the least.

“Well?” she asked, unsure why she was so eager to see what she thought of it, but she couldn't help it.

“It is good.” Lexa nodded, breaking off another piece and eating it.

Once she was done, Clarke reached out and took the peel so she didn't have to hold it, but Lexa looked at Clarke curiously.

“Why are you being so kind to me?” she asked, and Clarke tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I have not made this easy. I hurt your people, and I hurt you, and yet...you are still being kind,” she said apprehensively, but Clarke smiled gently, shrugging her shoulders a bit.

“Well...I mean, I would probably be the same way and do the same things if I found myself in a whole other place with people I didn't know,” Clarke said softly. “—But I probably would have gotten caught within the first five minutes because I'm actually very clumsy,” she added with a bit of a chuckle, and felt a warmness spread as a very faint smile tugged at the corners of Lexa's lips. “Speaking of which, how did you learn to fight like that?” she asked her with slight awe.

“Most of our people are trained to fight as soon as they can walk.”

“Why?” Clarke asked, truly wanting to know what her world was like.

“To survive,” Lexa simply said, and Clarke nodded, not wanting to push the questions too hard.

Honestly, she felt like she was Jane, and like this...land-living, skilled-fighting, curious girl was Tarzan in a way. Did she speak to animals, as well? She wanted to ask, but then again, she felt that would be too silly. She opted for the simple questions instead.

“Can I ask what that means?” Clarke questioned the symbol again, pointing to her forehead, and Lexa stared at her for a moment, her features a little guarded. “If you want to tell me. Just curious,” Clarke quickly added with a light shrug.

“It...is a symbol of respect,” Lexa simply answered, and Clarke had a feeling she wasn't just going to spill everything to her, but she wasn't going to push it.

“Cool.” She smiled, and Lexa tilted her head slightly.

“What is?”

“Your...symbol thing,” Clarke said with uncertainty, and Lexa's brows pulled together as she stared at her, telling Clarke she didn't understand what she was saying. “Uhm...'cool' is like slang. As in: I think it's neat. I like it,” she said, and finally, a small smile pulled at Lexa's lips.

“Thank you. I...think your bananas are _'cool'_ ,” Lexa tried to say smoothly, and Clarke chuckled at her attempt at modern slang, causing Lexa to squint at her a bit in curiosity. “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Clarke shook her head, smiling. “You're right. Bananas are pretty cool.”

They stared at each other for a moment, but this time it was in curiosity and fascination of the other, and things felt… more calm between them.

“Speaking of...do you have more of your bananas?” Lexa then asked, and Clarke sat up more, not realizing that one banana may have not been enough for her.

“Oh, of course! I mean, I have other stuff too, like uhm...” Clarke tried to think of everything in her kitchen, but she wasn't sure what Lexa would know or like, and then looked to her. “Would you like to come look instead?” she asked, and Lexa slightly perked up.

“Yes, I would.” She nodded, and Clarke stood up, but an idea struck her. “Hold on,” she said before Lexa could try to get up, and she went into the closet, looking for something as Lexa waited quietly. “Here we go,” she said, turning around and holding out her grandfather's old wooden cane. “This might help you get around better,” she said, holding it out.

Lexa took it as she scooted to the edge of the bed, and with a bit of help from Clarke, she stood up and leaned on the cane, testing it out.

“Thank you, Clarke.” She nodded, and Clarke smiled. “This is 'cool'.”

Clarke chuckled again, and surprisingly, Lexa smiled wider as they stood in front of one another. Clarke felt her cheeks becoming slightly warm, and also started to feel better about this whole situation. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as she thought, and quite honestly, it was adorable to see Lexa be introduced to new things and try to figure them out in her head. It was actually kind of fun.

Finally, Clarke nodded her head.

“Come on, let's go.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't exactly know if Lexa would have ever seen bananas or not where she's from, but I thought it would be kinda funny and cute. :) Again, some things might be slightly over exaggerated, but it's just for the fun of the story! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter!  
> I will be going on vacation soon, and I won't be able to update, so I'm trying to bust out as many chapters as I can. I apologize if the chapters seem rushed, or perhaps not enough, but I hope you guys still enjoy them and keep you interested!

“The other two are sleeping in the living room, so we should be quiet,” Clarke whispered as they slowly went down the hall, and Lexa nodded. They looked over at the two who were still sleeping soundly as they entered the living room, and then headed into the kitchen quietly.

“Well, I do have more bananas, but I also have other stuff I can make you if you're really hungry. What do you usually eat in your world?” Clarke asked, leaning against the counter as Lexa stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking around at everything with interest.

“We eat what we can find or catch. Usually meats, fish, eggs, and berries,” Lexa said quietly, and Clarke nodded.

“I figured. I have eggs and meat. I could make you that?” Clarke offered, but Lexa seemed to be a bit distracted. “Lexa?”

“I apologize. It smells good in here,” she noted quietly, looking around. “What is that?”

“Uhm...it might be the coffee,” Clarke said, being the only thing she could really smell as the coffee pot seemed to still be hot.

“Coffee..?” Lexa questioned, and Clarke nodded.

“Have you never had coffee before?” she asked, and Lexa shook her head.

“I have never had it, but I have read stories of people drinking it.”

“You have books in your world?” Clarke asked intrigued, and Lexa nodded gently.

“Yes.”

“Do you like to read?” Clarke asked, and Lexa nodded once more, a faint smile on her lips.

“Yes, but there are not very many books. Most are damaged.”

“Oh.” Clarke nodded, keeping a mental note. “Well, coffee is a drink that is meant to help wake you up. Some people like it, some hate it. It's an acquired taste I guess,” she said with a shrug, and smiled. “Would you like to try a little bit?”

“Yes.” Lexa nodded, leaning on the wooden cane, and Clarke turned, quietly getting out a cup to make for her.

She would have never guessed Lexa read books, but now that she knew, she was mentally going through any of the good books she had ever read, wondering what kind Lexa would like. She noticed a chip in the mug she had grabbed however, and frowned, setting it aside and reaching up to get another, making sure this one was undamaged before setting it down. She stood there for a moment, debating on whether to put anything into it or not, and decided to start it off black and go from there to see if Lexa liked it.

She filled the mug, but as soon as she turned around, she became surprised at what had happened next that she nearly dropped the mug onto the floor.

“Clarke! Look out!” Monty suddenly yelled, appearing from out of nowhere with his arms stretched out towards Lexa, but with skilled speed she smacked his ankle with the wooden cane, causing him to flinch down and hiss in pain. She then jabbed the cane hard into his torso to push him back, and then spun on her good leg, swinging the cane, and stopping within mere inches of Raven's surprised face, who was holding the wooden giraffe in the air from behind her.

She sucked in a breath, staring frozen in fear with wide eyes.

“Do not hit me again,” Lexa warned with a low dangerous voice, her face holding back pain with a clenched jaw as she stood strong on both legs, staring Raven down.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Clarke quickly set the mug down and raced forward, stepping between them and holding her arms out as Monty finally reappeared holding his stomach in discomfort. “It's alright, you guys! It's okay!”

“She's not trying to hurt you?” Monty asked, looking concerned, and Clarke shook her head.

“ _No_. Everything's fine—Raven, put the giraffe _down_ ,” Clarke said sternly, and Raven stared at Lexa for a moment before glancing to Clarke, who raised her brows, and she finally lowered the giraffe.

“ _Sorry_ ,” Raven said rather bitterly. “We just saw the crazy girl standing behind you with a wooden stick. We thought she got loose and was going to attack you again.”

“She wasn't. I gave that to her to use. And don't call her crazy. Her name is Lexa,” Clarke scolded her, but Lexa continued to stare at Raven dangerously, and Clarke turned to her. “It's fine,” she said quietly with a nod, and Lexa looked at her before she finally straightened up, placing the cane back down to lean on it.

They stood there quietly for a moment as the tension slowly decreased.

“So...she speaks English,” Raven noted, looking to Clarke. “Does she understand what happened then?”

“For the most part. I didn't explain everything because that's _your_ guys' area of expertise,” Clarke said, and Raven nodded, leaning against the wall.

“Alright, well...is she cool with the plan, then? She can stay here while we figure this out?” she then asked hopeful, and Clarke glanced up awkwardly.

“Err, well, I hadn't gotten to that part yet...” Clarke trailed off, playing with her fingers.

“What plan?” Lexa spoke up, and Clarke looked at her with slight timidness.

“Uhm, well...you see, my mom and brother are coming in a week to stay here for a bit, and we need you to act normal—err, like us...but, uhm—”

“—You have to pretend to be her girlfriend,” Raven interjected, and Clarke shot her a look.

“Raven!” she snapped at her, and turned to Lexa, who looked mildly confused. “N-Not my girlfriend, like my roommate.”

“How is she going to be your roommate if she's sleeping in your bed?” Raven shook her head.

Clarke's eyes went wide. “W-What? She's not—“

“—Where is your mom and brother going to sleep if you're pretending the only guest room is her room?” she asked, and Clarke hadn't thought about that last part.

“W-Well, how am I going to explain to her that I suddenly have a girlfriend living with me when I haven't even mentioned her at all?” Clarke shot back.

“You could say she just stays with you from time to time and wanted them to meet as a surprise,” Monty suggested, and Clarke shot him a glare while Raven smirked.

“You're not helping.” She shook her head.

“Sorry.” He frowned, leaning against the counter still holding his stomach.

“It's the best plan we have so far, Clarke,” Raven said with all seriousness, and though it made her a bit nervous, she knew this.

“What are the other options?” Lexa then asked, and they all looked at each other.

“Well, we'd have to try to find you another place to stay...which won't be easy.” Raven made a face. “And you can't stay with either of us in case the police start investigating. It's too risky,” she said, and Lexa's eyes looked away in thought.

“Really, Clarke's your best shot.” Monty nodded. “If you're willing to do this.”

As Clarke watched Lexa process this over, she wasn't sure how the other worldly girl would take to having to pretend to be like their 'normal', and for a moment she started to believe that Lexa wouldn't want to do any of that. Especially pretend to be her girlfriend. It was a slightly absurd plan to say the least, but they didn't have very many options other than Lexa hiding out in her basement or something, but Clarke didn't want to do that to her.

Finally, Lexa looked up.

“How do I pretend to be the 'girl-friend' of Clarke?” she asked, looking between the three of them, and Monty and Raven smiled.

“Uhm...” Clarke began to blush.

“Well first thing's first. We have to take that paint off of your face, and that...thingy on your forehead, and get you some up-to-date clothes. Then, we gotta teach you all about Clarke.” Raven smirked, crossing her arms over her chest as Lexa stared at Clarke with slight uncertainty and curiosity.

Clarke was starting to feel quite nervous all over again.

 

 

They had sat her down to try to explain how she got here, and how they were going to get her back, and though Lexa nodded as she listened, Clarke could see it in her eyes that she didn't quite fully understand it.

“I have to get struck by lightning?” she asked with concern, and Raven made a face.

“Not _exactly_. You have to be standing close to the machine, and if things go to plan it will open a portal type thing and you'll step through it,” she said confidently, but Lexa still looked unsure.

“Here you go,” Clarke said, bringing Lexa a plate of eggs, steak, and potatoes she had made while they were talking to her, and she set down the fork and cup of coffee next to it.

“Hey, where's mine?” Raven frowned, and Clarke raised a brow at her.

“Go get your own plate if you're hungry,” she said, sitting down next to Lexa at the table, and she found the girl staring at the food with slight awe.

“Thank you, Clarke.” She looked up at her, and Clarke smiled, wishing she had control over her blushing.

“No problem,” she said, and secretly waited eagerly for Lexa to start to eat and see what she had thought of the food.

Suddenly, she picked up the steak with her fingers and took a bite, and closed her eyes for a moment, chewing in content. She then picked up an egg with her fingers, causing it to break and the yoke to run, and popped the piece that hadn't fallen back onto the plate into her mouth before she even finished her steak, and they watched as she began to eat more quickly as if she hadn't ate in years, getting her fingers messy.

“Err...” Monty looked awkwardly as Lexa picked up more food with her fingers while Clarke frowned, realizing she should have made scrambled eggs instead, as Raven tried to hide her snickering.

Lexa finally realized they were staring at her and she slowed her chewing, staring at them curiously.

“Uhh...here.” Monty reached out and plucked a napkin from Clarke's napkin holder, handing it over to her, and she cleaned off her fingers.

“Okay, first lesson: Eat with utensils,” Raven said, unable to wipe the smile from her face, and reached out, picking up the fork to show her.

“U...ten...sils?” Lexa asked, taking the fork and holding it facing backwards sort of like a child would in their fist as she examined it.

“Yeah, utensils are... _tools_ we use to eat with,” Raven said cleverly. “That is called a fork.”

“Fork,” Lexa repeated, and looked to Clarke, who smiled and nodded, encouraging her to use it.

She unsuccessfully stabbed the eggs with it.

“Raven, stop laughing,” Clarke scolded as Lexa's brows pulled together when she wasn't getting much eggs with the fork, and looked back to her with an encouraging smile. “Try scooping it.”

She did just that and was finally able to pick up a decent amount of eggs, and smiled at Clarke.

“Cool,” she said gently, almost looking proud, and began to eat again.

Clarke lightly chuckled, smiling as she watched her eat, but when her eyes moved over to Raven, she found her staring at her with that sly Raven-smirk, and she quickly dropped her smile. She looked away, pretending to scratch the back of her neck as she felt even her ears becoming warm.

“Is this the coffee?” Lexa then asked, looking at the dark liquid in the cup as she swallowed the last of her food, and Clarke nodded.

“Yes. Uhm...I'm not sure how you would like it, so I started it off black—err, plain,” she said, and Lexa picked it up, trying it without hesitance.

She was quiet for a moment as she tasted it, and then nodded.

“I like it,” she said, taking another drink.

“Ew.” Raven made a face, and Lexa looked at her strangely.

“You do not like the coffee?”

“She takes her cream and sugar with a splash of coffee.” Monty rolled his eyes, and Raven stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to chuckle, but Lexa just stared at them with observing eyes.

“Alright,” Raven placed her hands on the table, “I'm super curious to see what she would look like without all of...that,” she said, waving her hand near Lexa's face, who blinked and leaned back. “So I'm going to go home and go through some of my clothes—because god knows I have way too many anyway—and come back with a full wardrobe in the morning, and we can start Operation Lexa of the Twenty-First Century.” She stood up. “Come on, Monty.” She lightly tapped his arm, but Clarke looked hesitant when Monty stood up as well.

“—Wait, I thought you guys were going to stay here?” she asked, suddenly feeling quite nervous all over again at the thought of being alone with Lexa, but she tried to hide it.

“Well it seems like you have it covered here.” Raven waved it away as she went and grabbed her shoes. “You should get her cleaned up though, maybe take out those braids in her hair, and start telling her more about yourself,” Raven said, and Clarke clenched her jaw as she saw Raven secretly winked at her. “We'll be back in the morning.”

“Uhm...one second,” Clarke said to Lexa, and stood up, following after Raven as Monty went to grab his own shoes. She lowered her voice. “You're seriously going to leave me alone with her?”

“What? You said it was fine.” Raven shook her head. “Plus, you two need to get more acquainted.” She smirked, and Clarke scowled.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Raven gave her an innocent look.

“I know what you're doing.” Clarke crossed her arms.

“I'm not doing anything.” Raven shook her head. “But I know a connection when I see one, which is going to totally make this more believable _and_ fun,” she said happily, and Clarke rolled her eyes. “Come on,” Raven then sighed. “You're going to have to tell her some personal things, teach her what hand holding means, how to _look_ like a couple—who is already living together I might add. I'm sure you don't want to be doing all of that with us watching,” she said, and Clarke stared hard at her for a moment because she knew it was true. She would rather not have to do all of that in front of them.

She sighed.

“Just get back here early.”

“We will.” Raven nodded with a smile as Monty approached them.

Once they got everything together and gave a final goodbye, Clarke watched them leave, shutting the door behind them.

She stood for a moment by the door, feeling her nerves rising with every silent second that passed.

_Okay. Just be cool. It's just a girl...a pretty girl...from another world...that you have to teach how to be your girlfriend...piece of cake._

“Clarke?”

She froze for a second before she turned around with a smile to Lexa, who was still sitting at the table.

“Yes?”

“I am ready to begin our plan if you are.”

“Right.” Clarke nodded, trying to push through her increasing nerves and think of what to do first. “Uhm, let's...get you cleaned up, then,” she said, and grabbed the cane for Lexa to use.

 

She took her down to the bathroom, and smiled. “Alright, have a seat,” she said, pointing to the toilet, and Lexa's brows pulled together.

“I do not have to use it,” she said, and Clarke chuckled, shaking her head.

“No, I'm sorry. Here,” she said, reaching forward and putting the lid down. “I'm going to take out your braids if that's alright?”

“Oh. Yes.” Lexa nodded, and made her way over, slowly sitting down and wincing lightly.

“How does it feel?” Clarke asked, indicating to her thigh.

“Better. Thank you.” Lexa smiled gently as she relaxed, and waited quietly.

“Alright, uhm...I'll get started,” Clarke said, walking around behind her, and she was finally able to take in the intricate detail of braids in her hair. “Wow, this is...pretty,” she said, and Lexa turned her head slightly.

“Thank you.”

It became silent again as Lexa waited for her, and Clarke finally reached out to start taking out the braids held together by small strings that she had to untie and unwrap. Surprisingly, her long earthy hair was soft.

“This must have taken a long time to do,” Clarke noted, slowly becoming more comfortable now that Lexa couldn't stare at her with those mesmerizing green eyes.

_Jesus, Clarke. Fo-cus!_

“Yes, it does take some time.”

It became silent once more, Clarke working to get the braids out without pulling her hair, and Lexa spoke up once more.

“Clarke.”

“Yes?”

“Why is your family not to know that I am not from here?” Lexa asked.

“Well...because how you got here is rather...very hard to believe, and we don't want to risk anyone asking questions, or spreading word I guess. My brother is young, and he has a big mouth,” she chuckled at the end.

“Besides...dressing like your people, what else am I to do to convince them?” Lexa then asked, and Clarke felt her nerves slightly rise. The time had come.

“Uhm...” She swallowed. “Y-You're supposed to pretend to be my girlfriend...”

“Which is?”

Clarke felt her cheeks becoming hot, and she was thankful Lexa couldn't see her face. “W-Well...that means that uh...we have to pretend to be together— _romantically_ together, I mean,” she tried to say calmly, and suddenly felt panic rising in her, causing her to start rambling quickly. “But I mean, if you're not comfortable with that or don't like the thought—or like, I don't know how you or your people from your world feel about two girls, w-we could figure something else out—“

“—Clarke.” Lexa suddenly turned her head to look back at her, cutting her off.

“...Yes?” she asked nervously.

“I had a romantic partner once, but... _she_ died a long time ago,” Lexa said quietly, and for a second, Clarke thought she could see sadness in her eyes, before she turned and faced forward again.

“Oh...” Clarke said quietly, working on her hair again. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“It is alright. It is forbidden anyway, and I paid the price for it,” she said quietly, and Clarke frowned.

“Forbidden? Why?” she asked curiously.

“Because those who are like me should not be involved with feelings for another, despite who they are. We are taught that it is a sign of weakness,” she said, and Clarke's brows pulled together.

“Weakness? What is? Love?” she asked, and Lexa nodded. “That's...That's not fair. Everyone should be able to love someone without consequence.” She shook her head, finding that thought rather cruel.

“Our ways are harsh, but it is how we survive,” Lexa said firmly, and this only made Clarke frown harder.

“Well...life should be about more than just surviving,” she said, and Lexa slightly turned her head, but she said nothing, and Clarke silently continued undoing her hair, feeling bad for the girl in front of her, but also more curious. What did she mean by 'those like her'?

However, she decided not to push it.

 

When she was finally finished, she straightened up, admiring the length of her wavy hair.

“All done,” she said, stepping around to the front of Lexa, who looked up with a faint smile. Clarke had thought about getting makeup wipes to clean off her face, but when she had noticed her clothes and a bit of stained blood on the skin around her thigh, she had a better idea. “Would you...like to take a shower?” she asked, and Lexa tilted her head slightly.

“Shower?”

“Yeah, it's an alternative to a bath, like...here let me show you,” she said, and turned to the shower. When she turned on the water, Lexa stared up curiously, slowly standing up to her feet and lightly limping over.

“It is like...a waterfall,” she said, looking to Clarke, who smiled.

“Yeah, it kind of is. You could also take a bath if you wanted, but it would take a little bit of time to fill the tub. A shower is faster.” She shrugged.

Lexa then slowly reached her hand out until it was under the running water, and she looked to Clarke with slightly wide eyes.

“It is hot,” she said, and Clarke smiled wider.

“That's the beauty of plumbing and a hot water tank,” she chuckled, and Lexa's brows pulled together in that adorable way.

“Plumbing?”

“Uhh...that's complicated to explain, but basically how we get our water,” she said, and Lexa nodded, reaching out to touch the water again.

“It feels nice.”

“Well, here, let me get you a towel and wash cloth, and some clean clothes you could change into after,” she said, and quickly headed out to her room to grab a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, as well as a fresh towel and cloth from the small cupboard above her washer and dryer. She quickly returned to the bathroom, but suddenly froze, her breath hitching up in her throat as her eyes landed on smooth exposed flesh, before striking green eyes contacted with hers.

“Oh!” she gasped out loud before quickly whipping around, her cheeks quickly becoming so warm they almost felt like they were on fire as her stomach clenched with nervousness.

“Is something wrong, Clarke?”

She felt... _something_ she tried to dare not acknowledge when she said her name, and shook her head, trying to rid the image, but failing terribly.

“N-No. I'm s-sorry, I didn't know you were...uhm, going to uh...get undressed. I should've knocked first...” she quickly rambled, clutching the towel, cloth, and clothes tightly.

“Should I have not?” She heard Lexa ask with a calm voice, and she quickly shook her head again, keeping her eyes straight out towards the hall.

“Uhm, n-no. I mean, I just...I didn't know. Uhm...” She tried not to look in the reflection of the mirror as she set the towel and the clothes down on top of the counter, but she could practically feel Lexa's eyes on her. She needed to get out of there. “There's uhm...shampoo, conditioner, and stuff you can use in there.”

“What is that?”

Clarke closed her eyes for a second, mentally slapping herself for thinking Lexa would know what those were, and tried to calm her racing heart as she grabbed the towel, holding it out behind her. “Here, wrap this around yourself, first. Please,” she said, and waited as she felt Lexa take the towel.

“...Alright.”

She slowly turned around and felt relief when she saw the towel wrapped around Lexa's body, and tried not to stare at the toned arms and legs that were still exposed, as well as the intricate tattoo on her arm, but she would have to question her later when she could finally relax and focus. She smiled awkwardly as Lexa stared at her, and then pointed towards the correct bottles, tearing her eyes away.

“You use uhm, that first to clean your hair and then rinse it out, and then use this one after to make it soft, and then use this with the cloth to uhm...clean your body,” she said, her cheeks tingling, and Lexa nodded.

Clarke was just about to turn and leave when she thought about her leg, and stopped. “Do you...uh...can you manage to get in?” she asked timidly, and thankfully, Lexa nodded.

“I think I can manage, Clarke,” she said, smiling faintly, and Clarke let out a breath, nodding.

“Okay. Good. I'll...be right out there in the living room where Monty and Raven were sleeping,” she said, pointing back out into the hall, and Lexa nodded again.

Clarke quickly turned and left, shutting the door behind her, and she leaned back into it, closing her eyes and trying to calm her nervous heart. She hadn't meant to walk in on her, but at the same time, she didn't know she was going to just get naked right there with the door open!

She couldn't stop the flooding image of her tan skin, and the toned lines of her muscles in the light, and shook her head.

_Oh boy_. Clarke thought, finally stepping away from the door.

This was going to be a long week.

 

* * *

 

 

Lexa watched as Clarke left.

She knew why she seemed nervous, but she had become accustomed to those—particularly women—that served under her to help her when she bathed back home, especially after a hard day of training, or in the few times of battle when her muscles were sore.

Here, they didn't seem to have many threats, and seemed more like individual people, which made sense why there were no clans, so it wasn't surprising that Clarke would feel nervous and awkward with having someone just strip down to nothing in front of them. She had to remember that it was very much different here.

Still, the thought of it, the way she had acted, kind of humored Lexa. These people were much softer here.

She still didn't understand the whole traveling machine situation, but the ones named Monty and Raven seemed to know what they were talking about—at least, she hoped, and they truly seemed like they were trying to help her. She would do whatever she needed if it meant getting home. She needed to get back to her people.

She sighed gently with tiredness, having all of this continuously causing her mind to buzz with questions and confusion, but she actually felt rather excited to try out this 'shower'. She had never experienced anything like this before, and after she had carefully pulled off the symbol of power from her head, placing it on the counter top, she carefully made her way in, and she sighed again in content as she felt her muscles immediately relax under the hot water.

Once she got all of herself and her hair wet, she looked around, spotting the containers that Clarke had pointed out, and picked the first one up curiously. It was pink colored with a picture of what seemed to be flowers on the front along with words like 'hydrating' and 'moisturizing'. It was a strange looking, thick, clear liquid inside, but she decided to give it a go. She popped open the cap, and was immediately consumed with a wonderful, but slightly strong, light, flowery scent.

She turned it upside down and watched as the liquid oozed out, filling up in the palm of her hand. She didn't know how much she needed to use, but when her entire palm was filled with the clear pinkish liquid, she figured that was enough, and put it into her hair.

Suddenly, foaming bubbles covered her entire head, running down her body, and she wondered if she had gotten too much.

She decided she should rinse it out, and to her surprise, her hair squeaked, but it felt slightly course, and she looked down at the second bottle Clarke had pointed out, remembering what she had told her.

_Condition-er_. She read in her head, and when she opened it, she was met with another smell of a light flowery scent. This liquid was much thicker than the other and wasn't clear like the other one, and this time, she didn't put too much in her palm. As soon as she began to put it in her hair however, she was surprised at how easily her fingers began to run through it like the rare silk fabric made back home.

It was oddly wonderful.

She then grabbed the cloth and the container labeled 'body wash', but this time it was a warm smell. Though it said vanilla on the container, it was like an odd imitation of it. Almost too powerful of a smell for her liking, but she decided to use it anyway, making sure to clean any of the blood that had stained the skin of her thigh, and her warpaint like they had requested.

 

Once she was done, she remembered seeing how Clarke had turned the knobs to bring the water out, and turned one.

Unexpectedly, cold water hit her and she nearly gasped in surprise, quickly reaching for the other knob she saw and turned it, successfully stopping the water.

She glared up at the strangely shaped metal pipe protruding from the wall, and carefully made her way out, grabbing the towel to dry herself off.

Her thigh felt much better already, either that or she was just getting used to the pain, and she picked up the clothes Clarke had brought her, holding the top up.

It was a slightly large black top, with an odd white spike-like symbol on it and something written underneath.

_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good._

She lightly frowned at it, wondering what that had meant, but put the top on anyway, and found it to be rather quite soft. She carefully pulled the bottoms on, which were a dark blue with white lines that made square-like patterns all over it, and they hung loosely on her hips, nearly pooling around her feet.

She gathered her clothes together, unsure of where to put them, and decided she would ask Clarke. She didn't use the wooden cane this time, finding it much easier and faster to limp. In all honesty, she didn't really need it in the first place, but they had taken her weapons away, and she had wanted it for protection just in case.

Now, she didn't really feel the need to hold onto it, and she opened the door, peaking her head out before she finally limped her way down the hall.

As she made it to the 'living-room', as Clarke had called it, she immediately spotted Clarke on the long, big chair, but Lexa realized she seemed to have fallen asleep, and she stood there, staring at her for a moment.

She didn't want to wake her, and silently looked around. She spotted the door to which Raven and Monty had exited further across the way, and for a moment, the thought of leaving crossed her mind. She knew that was her survival side urging her to go, run, hide, and try to figure this out on her own, but her logical side was telling her to stay put, because she believed they were telling her the truth, and that all they wanted to do was help, but she couldn't quite help the feeling. Her world was all about survival. It was how she grew up.

Suddenly, Clarke made a noise in her sleep, breaking her from her thoughts, and as she looked over, she suddenly spotted a small stack of undamaged clean books on the small wooden table in the middle of the room, and curiosity filled her.

She quietly limped over to it, setting her clothes down on the other big chair in the room, and reached out, picking up one of the books.

_The Hunger Games._ She read the cover, taking in the beautiful cover. She looked up at Clarke's sleeping form.

Did she pull these out for her?

A strange comfort spread through her as she watched her sleeping peacefully, and she suddenly felt the corners of her lips slightly tugging upwards. She returned her eyes to the book she was holding to read what it was about, immediately becoming interested. She looked behind her, and made her way over to the big chair she had set her clothes on, and carefully sat down on the soft cushion, opening the book.

The pages were soft, unbent, and clean, and she began to read.

 

 

She hadn't realized how much time had passed, finding herself becoming lost in the book. She couldn't remember the last time this had ever happened. She wasn't even sure if she ever had this much amount of peace and quiet to herself.

However, a noise and voices outside finally pulled at her attention, and she looked up to see that it was lighter outside already. Had she really just read all night?

The door suddenly opened, and she tensed up for a second, until she recognized the faces of Raven and Monty, who were still talking to each other, and when they spotted her on the chair, she put a finger to her lips and pointed.

They walked further into the room, carrying large, black, shiny bags, and looked over where she was pointing to see Clarke sleeping on the other big chair.

Raven nodded her head and then motioned for Lexa to follow them, smiling excitedly, and she carefully got up, lightly limping behind them curiously.

Once they entered the room they had first placed her in, Raven turned around, and suddenly looked her up and down.

“Wow. You're already looking normal,” she said, and Lexa looked down at herself, feeling already quite out of her element.

“Are these what your usually people wear? They are rather quite loose,” Lexa said, frowning a bit, and Raven chuckled.

“People usually wear loose unattractive clothes when sleeping, but...” she paused, setting down the black shiny bag she was holding, opening it up and pulling out what looked like different colored clothing. “We're going to find you a rockin' style.”

“A rocking style?” she asked peculiarly.

“Yup. Not only are we going to make you look normal,” Raven began, pushing Monty towards the door, who seemed a bit confused as she shut it on him, and then turned around. “But you're gonna look hot, too.”

Lexa's brows pulled together, staring at Raven curiously as she smirked, and she wondered if she should be concerned by this.

“...Hot?”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> So I tried my best to put out another chapter before I go. In my opinion it's a little short, somewhat vague, and not very much happening, but just something to hold you guys over till I get back!  
> Thank you for all of the wonderful comments and kudos!  
> Enjoy!

“I feel...silly.”

Lexa stared in the mirror, looking at herself in this brightly colored yellow top, with frilly fabric in odd spots, in an uncomfortable short dress that Raven said was called a 'skirt', with these strange open shoes that offered no protection and hurt her feet.

She didn't understand why she had to 'coordinate' these outfits, and keep displaying them for Monty—which Raven didn't seem to really acknowledge or like his opinions anyway. Every time he saw an outfit, he would say “it looks great” and Raven would roll her eyes, shut the door on him and make her try a whole new attire.

She was becoming tired already.

“Hmm...” Raven stared at her, deep in thought as Lexa stood there awkwardly, and suddenly, it seemed like a light went off in her head. “Okay. Alright.” She nodded, seeming to have her own conversation in her head, and Lexa's brows pulled together.

“What?”

“I've got it!” Raven then said excitedly, and began going through the clothes again, pulling out more. “Here. Try these.”

At some point Raven had stopped looking away or turning around when Lexa would get undressed, and became rather more confident—and if Lexa were to be honest...somewhat domineering—when having her try on different clothes. She would never have allowed someone to treat her in such a manner, but she was not in her world.

Raven then gave her this article of clothing called a 'bra', to which she took it upon herself to adjust it for Lexa, telling her that her breasts needed support as she pushed them up and together, but if anything, it was slightly uncomfortable.

However, Lexa would do what she would tell her, because she told her it was important to 'look the part' in this plan of theirs, even if she didn't quite understand what that exactly meant.

“ _Damn_ girl, you're going to have to tell me your workout schedule. Your body is magnificent!” Raven complimented her as changed, and Lexa actually chuckled.

“Thank you. I spend most of my days training.”

“Is that all you do in your world?” Raven then asked, and Lexa lightly shrugged.

“There is not much else to do besides hunting, expanding our villages, fighting our enemies...” she said, keeping her response simple.

She wasn't quite sure why she wasn't telling any of them who she _really_ was; that she was the Commander of Polis, the leader of her people, who was the first to unite twelve clans to create the Coalition.

Possibly a part of her wanted to keep that a secret, but why? Did she not want them to look at her any more different than they already did? Back home, of course they treated her differently. They respected and feared her, and because she was the Commander, she always had to watch what she said, how she acted, and what she did. Here...she found she didn't _exactly_ have to.

It was kind of relieving.

Perhaps in due time she would, but for now, she would do what she had to, to get home. Even if that meant dressing and acting differently in this strange world.

Finally, she turned to the mirror, looking to see what Raven had picked out for her this time, and she was relieved that it wasn't anything bright, or frilly, or uncomfortable. It actually felt...more comfortable in a way that she felt comfortable wearing it.

“Alright, I think this is the style!” Raven said excitedly behind her as she finished rolling up the sleeve to her elbow. “Jeans, open plaid button-up with a tank underneath, and Converse it is!” She nodded with a wide smile. “I don't know why I didn't see it before, but you do have a sort of natural slight tomboyishness to you.”

“A what?”

“Basically, you look like a cute girl who isn't afraid to get down and dirty.” Raven smirked as she began to play with her hair, bringing it over one shoulder.

“'Down and dirty'?” Lexa tilted her head.

“Yeah, you're not afraid to kick someone's ass,” she said proudly, and Lexa smiled lightly.

“I am not afraid to fight,” she agreed, and Raven chuckled.

“Well, I know Clarke's going to like this. She's fond of this style for sure,” she said, and Lexa looked up intriguingly.

“She is?” she asked somewhat hopeful, and when Raven's smirk widened, Lexa glanced away. “I mean, I hope she will like this if I am to pretend to be her girl-friend.”

“Oh trust me, she will. We're definitely going to have to take you shopping later for more, but let's show them, first,” she said, and took Lexa out towards the hall.

Monty looked up from where he was leaning against the wall in the hallway, and when he did, his face became slightly surprised. “Oh, wow.”

“There it is!” Raven suddenly said excitedly, and Lexa looked at her strangely. “That's the true reaction I was looking for.”

“She does look...good.” Monty nodded, and Lexa smiled lightly again, nodding her head.

“Thank you.”

“Come on, let's go wake Clarke!” Raven said excitedly, but suddenly stopped. “—Wait! Stay right there. I'm going to wake her up, and _then_ you come out when I say.”

“Why?” Lexa wondered.

“It'll be much more dramatic that way,” Raven said, nodding her head vigorously, and before either of the two could say anything she took off down the hall.

Lexa felt somewhat anxious now, and she looked over at Monty who raised a brow and shrugged.

“That's Raven for you.”

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Clarke...Claarrrke…_ CLARKE!”

“—What! What is it? What's wrong?” Clarke sat up with a jolt, looking wildly around from the couch before looking up at Raven.

“Hey sleepy-head.” She smiled at her. “It's time to get up.”

“I didn't...I didn't realize I had fallen asleep,” she said, rubbing her face and trying to regain herself when suddenly her eyes went wide. “Wait, where's Lexa? Is she still here? Did she leave?” She began to get up frantically.

“Whoa, slow your roll!” Raven put her hands on her shoulders, forcing her to remain seated. “She's still here.”

“Where is she? Is she alright?” Clarke asked when she didn't see her, and she became even more worried as she realized it was light outside. How long had she been asleep? She didn't even remember her coming out of the shower. Why didn't Lexa wake her?

“She's just fine.” Raven nodded her head. “In fact, she's better than fine. She's a babe. _Lexaaa_ ,” Raven turned and called back, and Clarke looked over towards the hall.

Suddenly, Lexa lightly limped out into the living room, and Clarke couldn't tear her eyes away.

She was wearing respectably fitted jeans, a white tank top—and she was sure a bra, but Clarke wasn't _exactly_ looking...not _really_ —with a blue plaid button up, and black Converse.

However, it wasn't only what she was wearing that Clarke couldn't stop staring. No. It was her face.

She hadn't seen her without the black paint covering most of it, but now that it was all cleaned away, she could finally see her features better. The smooth skin, the high cheek bones and slender nose, the soft rounded eyebrows, and the real depths of her striking green eyes. Her lips seemed even bigger, and her jawline was sharper than she had remembered, surrounded by long, wavy, rich-brown hair.

She was absolutely beautiful.

“Well? What'dya think?” Raven asked after a silent moment, pulling Clarke out of her trance.

“It's, uhm...you're...” Clarke tried to find the right words, because her heart was racing, her stomach was fluttering, and her head was buzzing. All in a fantastic way.

“Do you not like it, Clarke?” Lexa asked with a slight frown, looking down at herself before looking back up at her, and Clarke saw a certain hesitance, but also possibly even...shyness?

“N-No...” Clarke shook her head, standing up from the couch, and Lexa's brows pulled together. “I love it. You look...wow.” She smiled in awe.

Lexa's face relaxed as she looked down, clasping her hands behind her back, and Clarke could see the corners of her lips tugging upwards, but for the first time, she saw her cheeks lightly flush, causing her stomach to flutter again when she looked back up.

“I look like I could be your girl-friend?” she then asked, and Clarke's cheeks flushed harder than Lexa's had.

“Y-Yeah—I mean, I'm not saying that _just_ because of the way you're dressed—th-that's not the kind of person I am. I don't just date someone based on their looks or whatever,” she chuckled nervously. “B-But I just mean that, like...you seem like someone I would date—err, n-not that I know you yet, I mean...” she stammered hopelessly, feeling herself becoming more and more embarrassed the more she spoke, and she swore she could see those corners turn up again.

“—Well, you guys definitely won't have any problems acting like a horribly cute couple,” Raven suddenly said as Monty quietly snickered, and Clarke tried hard not to glare and smack her arm.

“ _Anyways_ ,” Clarke pressed on, and suddenly realized she felt rather self-conscious about her own appearance, seeing as she had just woken up from the couch in the same pajamas from last night. “I'm going to go shower now, and get myself ready. What are the plans for today?” she asked, now avoiding Lexa's eyes because she was sure she looked like a hot mess. She was just glad she didn't drool or anything...

“Well, Monty and I are going to do a bit of _our_ shopping, and then later we could all go shopping for more clothes and things for her?” Raven suggested, and Clarke nodded.

“Okay, that sounds good,” she said, but Monty spoke up.

“Uhm, I think I'm going to leave the clothes shopping to you girls,” he said, and Raven rolled her eyes.

“Fine, then you can work more on the machine while we do that.”

“With pleasure.” He nodded, and Lexa's brows pulled together.

“Is there something wrong with the clothes shopping?” she asked, and Monty made a face.

“With these two? Yes.”

She looked at the two with uncertainness as they smiled.

 

 

Clarke finally got herself in the shower, but she couldn't get Lexa or the image of her out of her mind.

She looked _good_.

Almost too good that it made Clarke nervous. She felt like she were being set up on a date, and that made her even more of a nervous wreck because she couldn't remember the last time she had gone on a date, or dated anyone for that matter.

_Stop fussing. It's all just for pretend._ She tried to tell herself, but being alone in the shower where her thoughts could run freely, she couldn't help but think about holding her hand, hugging her... _kissing_ her...Would she have to do those things? Surely, her mother would expect the hand holding and what not, but when would be an appropriate time to kiss her?

— _Wait, why are you trying to find an excuse to kiss her? You just met her!_

She shook her head and sighed. Maybe she should just say she was a friend visiting instead, but what about when she would leave? There would be questions either way, but if they 'broke up' as a couple, Clarke would have an excuse as to why she suddenly disappeared and she could just say she didn't want to talk about it...

Perhaps going with the dating idea was better. Even if the thought of doing couple-y things like going out to eat, hanging out with friends, and holding hands made her nervous and excited because she was sure that was bound to happen depending on how long she was stuck here.

She sighed again. She needed to get out of the shower now, or her thoughts were going to run wild.

Once she was done, she went straight to her room to get dressed and do her makeup, and she _may_ have started over-thinking it, trying on different clothes that best suited her and enhanced certain areas.

Jeez, she was already a nervous hot mess, and they hadn't even gotten that far! What was she going to do when the time actually came to start acting like a couple?

She finally came out of her room and quietly walked down the hallway, her heart and her nerves racing, and she found Raven, Monty, and Lexa all sitting on the couches; Monty and Raven seeming to be trying to explain something to her.

“Pay attention, open doors, and pull out chairs for her.”

“Yes, of course.” Lexa nodded.

“And call her babe.”

“Babe?” she asked and they nodded.

“Yes, but don't over-do it. No one likes an overindulgent girlfriend,” Raven said, and Lexa nodded her head.

“Alright.”

Clarke smiled gently, fidgeting with her fingers near the hallway while Lexa listened with an adorably concentrated face, going unnoticed by them.

“But stand close to her, and keep doing that smoldering stare thing that you do,” Raven said, trying to mimic it, and Lexa's brows pulled together as she stared at her. “Yes, just like that.” She nodded, and then leaned in. “—And make sure to slap her butt when she leaves, but not in front of her mom or little brother,” Raven then said quietly with a smirk, but Clarke had heard her.

“ _Raven!”_

“—Oh, hey Clarke.” She tried to smile innocently as they all looked up. “We were just explaining to Lexa on how to be your girlfriend.”

“ _And_ inappropriate behaviors it seems.” She glared, crossing her arms over her chest as she finally walked further into the living room, and she could feel Lexa's eyes on her. She tried not to look at her, but she couldn't help but glance over, and blushed as Lexa stared at her.

“What? Pfft—Psh— _No_.” Raven made a face, shaking her head while Monty sunk in his seat. “Just...you know, normal behaviors that couples do.”

“Why do you slap each others'... _butts_?” Lexa then asked, finally tearing her eyes away, and Raven gave her a wide-eyed firm look that clearly shouted _'shut up'_.

“You don't. Raven's just being one,” Clarke said, and Lexa looked up at her confused. “Never mind. Just...don't listen to _everything_ these two say.”

“—Hey, I'm not the one who said it,” Monty said, holding his hands up in surrender, and Raven smacked his arm. “Ow!” He flinched away.

“Thanks, jerk.” She glared at him, and Clarke shook her head. Raven then looked to Lexa and rose her eyebrows, motioning with her head towards Clarke. “Well?”

“—Oh, right. Clarke.” She looked up at her with a serious face.

“...Yes?” Clarke's brows slightly pulled together.

“I have a question...” Lexa glanced at Raven, who nodded her head in encouragement, and Clarke had an uneasy feeling.

“Okay...” She waited.

“Is...your name wi-fi?” she asked, and Clarke stared at her for a moment before she took a deep breath, knowing what was coming next and making a mental note to smack Raven later.

“...Lexa, don't—“

“—Because I feel a connection,” she said firmly, and then smiled with slight awkwardness, looking to Raven for reassurance, who was trying hard to hold back laughter along with Monty, who was keeping his chin tucked down to his chest. They both finally burst out laughing.

“Pick-up lines, really?” Clarke sighed as she looked to Raven like a mother disappointed in their child. “I am going to hurt you.”

“What? It's cute!” Raven defended, unable to hold back her fit of laughter.

“I thought you said she would like that,” Lexa then said, looking confused and mildly upset towards Raven.

“She _would_ if she had a sense of humor.” She rolled her eyes.

“I _do_ , but this is a serious matter we're dealing with, in case you forgot,” Clarke pointed out, and finally sat down next to Monty. “So, we need to start thinking of a full background story for her. Cover all grounds.”

“A full background story? Why?” Monty asked as their laughter finally died down.

“Because my mom is a nosey woman, to put it bluntly,” Clarke said, and Raven couldn't help but nod in agreement.

“Alright, well...First,” Raven turned to Lexa. “What's your last name?”

The brunette stared at them for a moment, until she finally asked. “What is a last name?”

“Uhm, it's your family name…A surname. It comes after your first name?” Raven said awkwardly when Lexa only continued to stare. “Like...My name is Raven Reyes. He's Monty Greene, and she's Clarke Griffin. So you're Lexa…?”

“I am _Lexa kom Trikru,_ ” she stated firmly with a nod, and the others looked at each other.

“That's your last name?” Monty asked curiously, but Lexa shook her head.

“It means I am from the Woods Clan. We do not have...'last names'. Our clans are our family.”

“Alright...” Raven said, thinking. “Well, we need to come up with something for you for now.”

“How about Lexa Woods?” Monty asked with a slight shrug. “It's believable.”

“Yeah, that should work.” Raven nodded, smiling to Lexa. “So, whenever people ask you your name, you say 'Lexa Woods', alright?”

“Alright.” She nodded.

“I can get Jasper to make an ID for her, just in case?” Monty then suggested, but Clarke's brows creased.

“You think she'll be here long enough to need an ID?”

“Just to cover all grounds like you said.” Monty shrugged, and looked to Lexa. “How old are you?”

“I have survived many Springs,” she said, and Monty looked slightly confused.

“Err...How many?”

“At least twenty-two.” She nodded.

“Alright, twenty-two it is!” he said happily, pulling out his phone. “I'll ask Jasper right now.”

“—Wait, won't he ask why?” Clarke questioned with caution, but Monty shook his head.

“Nah, he doesn't ask questions. All he cares about is the payment,” he said as he began to type away, and after a moment, he looked up. “Done. I just need a picture. Uhm...over there, by the white wall. He can fix it after,” he said, pointing to an open space.

They took Lexa over to the wall, making sure nothing else was in view, and Monty held up the phone.

“Alright, smile,” he said, but Lexa's face remained mostly impassive, albeit slightly confused.

He snapped the picture with the flash, and Lexa blinked several times with a slightly strained face as he checked out the photo.

“Great. You're about...what, five-five, five-six? We'll say...around one hundred and twenty...” he rambled off mostly to himself as he started to walk away, tapping away on his phone in concentration. “You said Spring so...July for your birthday. Brown hair...uh...wait, are your eyes blue or green?”

“Green,” Clarke said before he had a chance to go back and look at her, and they all looked to Clarke, who felt herself beginning to blush. “...What? I'm an artist. I pay attention to detail,” she said somewhat defensively.

“Right.” Monty nodded, returning to his phone, and Clarke dared not look at Raven because she could feel that smirk flashing right at her, nor did she look to Lexa, because she could already feel those green eyes burning into her skin.

“Alright, she's all set on the ID.”

“Okay, so...background story,” Raven then said as they walked back to the couches to sit down, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small notebook and a pen, and they all looked towards each other, waiting for someone to speak.

“Uhh...”

“Do you have siblings?” Raven then asked Lexa, trying to start somewhere.

“No.”  
  
“Parents?”

“No.”

“Okay...friends?”

“No.”

They all looked at each other again, unsure. “Okay...what can you tell us about yourself?” she then asked, and Lexa looked at her curiously. “Like...favorite color?”

“Why does that matter?” she asked, and Raven sighed.

“We gotta start somewhere, babe.”

“I thought Clarke was babe,” Lexa said, looking confused, and Clarke chuckled as Raven closed her eyes for a moment. It was about time she wasn't the one getting flustered, or awkward, or irritated.

“I didn't—just never mind. Favorite color?” she asked more sternly.

Lexa thought for a moment, and then very lightly shrugged. “I like the color blue.”

“Of course you do.” She glanced at Clarke before writing it down. “Favorite hobby? What do you like to do when you're not...surviving or whatever?”

“I like to read.”

“Great!” Raven smiled down at the notebook, relieved to be finally getting somewhere. “Favorite food?”

“I like the berries from near the river—“

“—Right, you probably don't have our food,” Raven stopped her, beginning to write. “We'll go with...pizza as the guilty pleasure, but we'll say you're a bit of a health nut kind of girl.”

“Peet...za...” Lexa said slowly, and then looked to Clarke. “What is a health nut? Are they good?”

“Oh, they're good.” Raven nodded. “Especially on their Sunday morning jog when the weather's hot and humid, so there's not much left to the imagination.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and Lexa looked only more confused as Clarke sighed while Monty shook his head.

“She's talking about people,” Clarke said, and Lexa's eyes widened slightly as she looked to Raven.

“You eat your people?”

“—Oh, no. No.” Clarke shook her head quickly. “Health nut is a term for really healthy people. She meant like watching people working out—like the pervert she is,” she corrected, and Raven feigned offense.

“Hey! You do too!” she accused, and Clarke glared, rolling her eyes as Lexa relaxed slightly.

“Do not.”

“Do too!”

“Do—“

“—Guys!” Monty interrupted with slight irritation. “Let's stay on topic, huh?”

“Yeah, _Raven_ ,” Clarke quipped pointedly, and Raven made a face.

“Sorry, _Clarke_ ,” she shot back, playfully giving her the finger, and then looked down at her notes. “Alright, so...Lexa, you don't have _any_ friends? Like…close companions or anything?”

Lexa looked down in thought for a moment. “I do rely on Gustus often...and I suppose my former mentor, Anya.”

“Okay, good. Good.” Raven jotted it down. “We'll say you went to school with them.”

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out to read the text she had received.

“Shoot,” she said, tucking it away and standing up. “Something's messing up with the computers at work. Sorry, but I gotta go.”

“Wait, I'll go with you and then we can start looking around for parts after,” Monty suggested, standing up, and Raven nodded.

“Good idea. Clarke, you got this?” she asked, tossing the small notebook at her, and Clarke nodded with slight uncertainty as she caught it.

“I-I guess so...”

“Awesome, I'll text you when we're headed back,” she said, and with a wave from both, they left out the door, leaving Lexa and Clarke all by themselves.

They sat there silently; Lexa staring at her as Clarke's eyes darted around.

“So, uhm...”

“I suppose I shall need to learn about you now, Clarke?” Lexa suggested, and Clarke nodded with a small shrug.

“Uh y-yeah, I suppose you should...” she trailed off, thinking of what to say. “Well, uhm..my favorite color is green...I love Mexican food. I uh...I'm an artist...”

“You are?” Lexa seemed to perk up slightly, and Clarke smiled gently.

“Yeah, I am. I actually work as a painting instructor for a company that gets groups of people together, and they mostly drink wine while I teach them to paint,” she said, and paused. “Err, wine is like..a drink that—“

“—Clarke, I know what wine is,” Lexa interrupted with a small smile, and Clarke chuckled a bit nervously.

“Right, sorry. I guess I don't know all that you have in your world.”

“It is alright. I would however...like to see some of your work, if you have it,” Lexa then said, and this time it was Clarke's turn to perk up.

“Oh? Uh yeah. Let me just...h-hold on one moment,” she said, and got up, looking for her portfolio.

Once she found it, she came back and instead of sitting on the other couch, she sat next to Lexa, resting the portfolio in her lap and opening it up.

She felt slightly nervous for her to be looking at her work.

“I usually just take pictures of them and make smaller prints—err, smaller visuals of them so I don't have to carry all of them around,” she said, slightly sliding it over to Lexa's lap, who reached out and began to look.

“These are smaller versions of your paintings?” Lexa asked, and Clarke nodded.

“Yup. It's pretty up to date. I haven't worked on anything personal in a while. Most of them are just for work, now,” she said, as Lexa began to go through each one.

“These are...amazing, Clarke,” Lexa said after a moment, looking up at her, and as Clarke looked back, she didn't realize how close they were actually sitting, which was actually side-by-side to hold the portfolio in their laps.

“Th-Thank you.” Clarke blushed with a nervous smile, and thankfully, Lexa returned her eyes back to the photos, flipping through again.

She continued to secretly watch Lexa as her eyes roamed over the photos however, and she suddenly had an urge to paint the girl. Especially her eyes. But she wanted to paint her as she was, when she first met her. Warrior-like, with the face paint, armor and all, but she couldn't find the courage to ask her just yet. Perhaps if she were around long enough, Clarke would ask her to pose, so she wouldn't have to do it from memory.

“You truly have skill for this, Clarke,” Lexa said as she had looked at the final photo, taking in all the detail, and she finally closed the portfolio, handing it back.

“Thank you.” Clarke smiled, trying to ignore the fact that their fingers touched, and set the portfolio on the coffee table.

They sat there quietly for a moment again, and Clarke was starting to feel her nervousness rising. She wanted to ask if she could paint her some time, she truly did, but she just couldn't find the courage, especially now being alone together, and it really didn't help when Lexa was constantly staring at her just a few inches away. She had such beautiful features...

_You need to learn more about each other, first!_ Clarke told herself firmly, trying to remember the plan. Her mother and brother would be here at the beginning of next week, after all.

“So, uhm...” She tried to focus, but all she could think about was how close Lexa was sitting next to her.

She should probably move, but she didn't want Lexa to think she didn't want to sit next to her, either.

“Uhm, anyway, I uh...like the Fall. It's probably one of my favorite seasons, especially because there's Halloween.” She smiled, trying to appear calm and cool, and Lexa tilted her head in that adorable way like a cute puppy that didn't understand.

— _Stooooop._ She told her mind.

“What is Halloween?”

“Oh, it's a...holiday—like a celebration in the Fall where each year people dress up in cool or fun costumes. They can get like, really creative, and kids walk around collecting candy, like...sweets and stuff while most of the adults have parties. It's a whole thing,” she waved it away for fear of boring Lexa as she watched her, listening.

“Please, Clarke. I would like to hear more about your culture and celebrations, and more about you and the things you enjoy,” Lexa insisted with a smile, and Clarke hesitated for a moment as she looked at her. She seemed genuinely interested, and so she started speaking again.

“Alright, well...Halloween is really great, but so is a holiday called Christmas...”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I'm sorry you had to wait such a long time for me to update! I have been busy since getting back from vacation (which was amazing and much needed!)  
> However, I've been feeling a little off of my game, but...I tried! So, I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm sorry if it seems slow, or just...not very well entertaining lol, I am just trying to get back into the swing of it again. :P

Nearly an hour and a half had gone by as Lexa listened to Clarke, who felt like she was just rambling about herself and the world, and at one point, Clarke's stomach growled loudly.

“Oh, sorry. I just realized I haven't eaten yet,” she said with a light chuckle as she put a hand to her stomach, and then became worried as she looked up. “Oh no, you haven't eaten either, have you? Are you hungry?”

Lexa nodded. “I am quite hungry to be honest.”

“Shit, I'm sorry! Well, let me make us something to eat,” Clarke quickly said, feeling like a terrible host as she stood up from the couch.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, trying to decide what to make for them. Perhaps something simple, like bacon, eggs, and toast as she wasn't still quite sure what Lexa liked and didn't like, but she was certain about the eggs given she had ate all of it the first time.

She grabbed those and a package of bacon, and as soon as she turned around, she nearly gasped as she found Lexa standing right behind her.

“Oh!” She jumped, and chuckled nervously. She hadn't expected Lexa to follow her into the kitchen...or to be standing so close. “You scared me.”

“I apologize,” Lexa said, taking a step back.

“N-No, that's alright. You're just so...quiet,” Clarke said, and Lexa seemed to smile gently at this, making Clarke's stomach roll in a different way. She smiled back, and then Lexa slightly leaned to the side, looking behind Clarke and into the fridge.

“What is that?”

“It's a refrigerator. It keeps our food cold so it lasts longer,” Clarke explained, stepping over and holding the door out wider so Lexa see better. Her eyes roamed all over the different items inside, before she straightened up.

“ _Cool_.” She nodded, and Clarke chuckled as she finally let the door shut and walked over to the counter to prepare their food.

Lexa was right next to her again. Watching.

Clarke was nervous.

“How many chickens do you have?” she then asked, and Clarke looked up somewhat confused.

“What?”

“You seem to have plenty of eggs. How many chickens do you have?” she asked again, nodding to the carton of eggs Clarke had opened, and she finally understood.

“Oh, no. I don't have any chickens myself. I got these from the store.”

“Store?” Lexa tilted her head.

“Err...the market? Where we go to get our food,” she said, pulling out a pan.

“I see. We have a market in the city as well, but sometimes the eggs are hard to come by.” Lexa lightly shrugged.

“Really?” Clarke asked, but as soon as she turned the burner to the stove top on, Lexa looked surprised as the flames ignited.

“How did you do that?” she asked, peering down at it in awe.

“Oh, there's gas in there...and it...ignites the fire without having to light it ourselves,” she tried to explain simply, and Lexa nodded, though she still looked slightly confused and also intrigued.

“ _Cool_. And what is that?” she asked as Clarke grabbed the bread and plugged in the toaster.

Even though Lexa was questioning just about everything, it didn't bother Clarke at all. It was kind of entertaining, and to have someone here at the house when she usually lived alone was also kind of nice.

“This is for the bread, so we can toast it,” she explained, grabbing two pieces. “You just drop them in like this, and push this down and it gets hot inside.” She showed her, and then looked at her hesitantly for a moment, before holding two more pieces out. “Wanna try it?”

“Yes.” Lexa nodded, taking the two pieces, and she dropped them in to the other two free slots, and pressed the lever down. When she saw the coils inside begin to heat up, she leaned in, looking into it. “This is...strange,” she said, and Clarke chuckled as she began to break the eggs open in the pan.

However, she forgot to tell Lexa what would happen _when_ the toaster was finished toasting the bread, and as the first two pieces unexpectedly popped up towards her face, she lightly gasped, jerking back quickly as she practically punched the toaster away from her at the same time, sending it and the bread clattering over to the side, looking alarmed.

“Oh, I'm so sorry!” Clarke apologized, trying her damn hardest not to burst out with laughter at what she had just witnessed, setting the toaster upright. “They pop out when they're finished.” She bit her lip hard, but a few giggles managed to escape as Lexa stood there looking on edge. “Don't worry, even though I use it all the time it still scares me too.”

“I was not scared,” Lexa said firmly, looking mildly upset with lightly flushed cheeks, and Clarke nodded, still trying not to laugh.

“Right,” she said as she put more bread in, but Lexa was now glaring at the toaster, standing a good couple of steps away from it. “Why don't you tell me more about your city,” Clarke suggested so Lexa wouldn't feel embarrassed as she started to cook.

Lexa kept her eye on the toaster, but nodded and began to explain.

 

Once she finished cooking and they sat down to eat, she seemed to understand Lexa's world even more. She knew they lived off of the land, but the way they did things sounded more like the stories she heard of the old days where they traded items for different ones rather than using things like currency. It was fascinating to think of people living that way; hunting, trading game for clothing and such, living in the wilderness yet building a community from nothing.

“So...if you were dumped in the middle of the forest, you'd be able to survive?” Clarke asked in awe, and Lexa nodded.

“During my trainings, we would be blind folded and taken to a random location and left with only very few items. We would have to hunt, as well as find our way back, and what we caught was what we were allowed to eat.”

“So even if you came back empty-handed...” Clarke trailed off, taking a bite of her food.

“Then we would not be allowed to eat that day.”

“That seems a little harsh...” Clarke said as Lexa took a bite, and she shrugged lightly.

“It taught us to be patient, and learn how to control ourselves and stay focused during hunger.”

“What if you couldn't find your way back though?” Clarke asked curiously.

“They would leave you for three days, and then search for you if you did not return...in hopes that you were still alive,” she said, staring off at the table for a moment.

“Wow...I'm sorry you had to go through that,” Clarke said with a light frown, and Lexa looked up.

“Why?”

“Well...b-because,” Clarke fumbled a bit. “I mean...that's a hard way of learning.”

“It is how we survive, and it makes us better warriors,” Lexa said, seeming to have no hard feelings towards the subject as she took another bite. “It was also better to show up empty-handed than getting caught.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were not actually caught by a real enemy, a few times they would disguise themselves as so, and they would attempt to break you and get any kind of information out of you. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference because they would torture you as if it were real, but even if you knew it was part of the training, when you are starving and weak you will do just about anything.”

Clarke frowned as she stared at Lexa while she ate, and suddenly she could see signs of light scarring on some of her skin that was exposed like her hands and arms, and a few on her neck that she hadn't really taken notice before. She could see the rough exterior to this young girl; countless times of hardships that seemed to have matured her soul and could be felt in the air around her.

They really were from two different worlds.

“So...” Clarke stood up, grabbing their plates once they were finished and setting them in the sink. “What other stuff did Raven tell you to say or do while I was getting ready?” she asked with a raised brow, sitting back down, but Lexa hesitated for a moment.

“I do not want to say if it will make you upset.” She looked down for a moment, and Clarke felt bad that she had come off that way.

“No, it didn't upset me. I just don't want Raven teasing you in any way and telling you to do or say something that will make you look silly,” she explained, and when Lexa looked up at her, she gave her an encouraging smile.

“Well…she told me to hold your hand while we are walking. Why is that?” Lexa asked, and Clarke's stomach fluttered at the thought.

“I-It's just a romantic gesture between adults really,” she said, trying not to think about holding Lexa's hand, but her mind wondered how it would feel, and her hands lightly tingled as Lexa looked down at them resting on the table. She wondered if she was thinking about it as well, and took a rather big sip of her coffee.

“So,” Clarke cleared her throat, trying to ignore her anxious hands as she held her coffee cup. “Did she tell you to say any other...pick-up lines?” she asked, though she was almost hesitant to know, and Lexa glanced away for a moment, before looking back to Clarke with those big beautiful eyes.

“Yes.”

Clarke waited, and when Lexa didn't speak, she chuckled gently. “You can tell me, Lexa.”

“Alright.” Lexa turned towards her with seriousness, and Clarke wondered if Raven told her to do that. “Clarke, for some reason I was feeling off today...but then you came and turned me on,” she said with that stoic face, and Clarke couldn't help the chuckle and roll of her eyes, ignoring the true feeling of nervous giddiness it gave her. Why was her body reacting so strongly to these things?

“That _so_ sounds like Raven.” She shook her head, and when she smiled, Lexa gently smiled back, causing the stir of butterflies again. She raised the cup up to her lips again to take another drink, hoping to wash the nervousness away and distract herself.

“I do not understand it though,” Lexa then admitted, looking to Clarke with questioning eyes. “What does it mean to be 'turned on'?” she asked, and suddenly Clarke choked on her coffee, feeling her cheeks begin to burn fiercely as Lexa stared at her. She swallowed hard.

“Uhm...I-It uh, means—“

 _Thank god_ her phone started ringing.

She never felt more happy to hear that tone, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I'm sorry, one second,” she said, realizing it was Raven calling her, and she stood up, taking a few steps away from the table. “H-Hey, what's up?”

“ _Hey, I was just calling to tell you I'm heading back now.”_

“Okay, cool. Well we just finished eating so we're ready.”

“ _Oh yeah? How's it going with you two...alone?”_

Clarke rolled her eyes at the sly tone in Raven's voice, and quickly stole a glance at Lexa, who was now busy staring at the fake flower centerpiece Clarke's mother had gotten her, touching the petals curiously, and she smiled gently.

“Good. Just...stop with the pick-up lines, please.”

“ _What? Why?”_ Raven pouted through the phone, and Clarke sighed as she slightly turned away, lowering her voice.

“You're teasing her,” she said sternly.

“ _Come on, it's cute and funny.”_

“Just stop, or I'm going to tell her you like being poked in the sides when you least expect it, and that you enjoy the sound of someone eating with their mouth open,” Clarke threatened, and it was Raven's turn to sigh.

“ _Fiiiine. You're no fun,”_ she said, and Clarke refrained from rolling her eyes again. _“Alright, I'm almost there, and then we can take her shopping for more clothes. See you soon.”_

“Okay, see you soon,” she said, and hung up.

 

Once Raven got there, Clarke paused, looking concerned.

“Are you sure we should take her out there? What if someone recognizes her?” she asked Raven, and they all looked at Lexa's appearance.

“I will take my weapons if anyone tries to harm me,” Lexa then said confidently, and both Raven and Clarke shared a look before shaking their heads.

“Uh, probably not a good idea,” Clarke said, and Lexa frowned.

“I think we'll be fine. They're looking for a scary apocalyptic girl dressed in black with a massive killer sword and black paint on her face. She just looks like a cute head-turning lesbian.” Raven nodded, still admiring her work of Lexa's outfit.

“ _Raven,”_ Clarke nearly snapped at her blunt use for such words.

“What?”

“Don't assume,” Clarke muttered with a glare.

“I just said she _looks_ like one,” Raven said nonchalantly, but when Lexa's face remained confused, she raised a brow. “Err, you know what a lesbian is...right?”

Lexa shook her head.

“It means a woman who only likes and dates other women,” Clarke explained, and somewhat backtracked. “N-Not that _Raven_ knows you only like women, so she shouldn't just go and _assume_.” She glared at her again, and Raven shrugged innocently. “If you like men too—“

“—No.” Lexa shook her head firmly. “I do not.”

“Oh, okay.” Clarke nodded her head, though it actually didn't surprise her. She just kind of sensed it about her, but she didn't want to assume either.

Suddenly, Raven gasped, causing the two to quickly look at her.

“ _Oh my god!_ You know what we should do?” she asked excitedly, and Clarke raised her brows, afraid of what Raven could be thinking now.

“...What?”

“We should take her to Pride this weekend!” She hopped up and down, smiling widely. “It'd be so much fun!”

Honestly, with everything that had happened since they showed up with Lexa at her doorstep, Clarke had forgotten Pride was already coming up.

She slightly made a face. “I don't know...it might be too much.”

“Oh, come on, Clarke! When are you going to let loose a little?” Raven asked her.

“What is this...Pride?” Lexa then asked, and before Clarke could answer, Raven beat her to it.

“Pride is a celebration in honor of the riots that took place long ago that helped push for the Gay Liberation Movement,” she said, but Lexa's confusion only grew. “You know, celebrating queer people, same-sex love, gay rights, and all of that jazz. It's like a positive stance against the discrimination and violence people experience from those who look down upon it,” she explained quickly, still clearly excited about the thought of going.

“Your people look down upon that?” Lexa lightly frowned, and the other two nodded.

“Yeah, some still do. Yours doesn't?” Raven asked, and Lexa shook her head.

“No. We do not discriminate those for who they love in our alliances,” she said, but Clarke's brows pulled together.

“But I thought you said it was forbidden…?” she asked, and Lexa looked down for a moment.

“It is forbidden for people like me...” she trailed off slowly, and Clarke's curiosity sparked, but she didn't want to push it from the seemingly slight distance now growing in Lexa's eyes.

“People like you? What do you mean?” Raven asked instead, having not noticed.

Lexa looked at the two with hesitance, as if she didn't want to tell them, and took a bit of a deep breath. “I…I am just not like most others. Not everyone has black blood is all,” she said firmly, turning her eyes away again, and Clarke could tell she didn't want to say any more than that on the matter.

“What do you—“ Raven began, but Clarke stopped her.

“—We should really get going, Raven,” she said, raising her brows, and Raven finally picked up on the hint and nodded.

“Right. Well—Oh, here we go,” she said, turning to Clarke's small console table, and she grabbed one of her pairs of sunglasses, putting them on Lexa's face for her before she had a chance to say anything. “There, that works!”

“It is darker?” Lexa said, confused as she reached up and touched the sunglasses, looking around with them on. She pulled them up from her eyes and then put them back down to see the difference, and in Clarke's opinion, it was actually quite adorable to watch. “This is...cool?”

“Yes, you look cool. Alright, let's go!” Raven said happily, and they all headed out the door.

As they reached Raven's car, she got in immediately, but as Clarke reached for the handle, Lexa just stood there and stared at the vehicle.

“What is this?” she asked, looking to Clarke, who had forgotten Lexa was knocked out when they had her in the car the first time.

“It's a machine that helps us get from one place to another quickly,” she explained, and Lexa's brows pulled together.

“No one uses horses?” she asked, and Clarke shrugged.

“Not really anymore. Some do in other smaller places, but not really in the city,” she said, and Lexa nodded, still staring at the vehicle. Clarke reached out for the handle and opened it for her, and Lexa peered into it cautiously.

“Come on in, it's fine! I'm a good driver!” Raven encouraged with a smile.

“That's debatable...” Clarke said, and Raven playfully glared at her as Lexa slowly climbed inside.

Clarke was about to get into the passenger seat, but stopped as she noticed Lexa just sitting there. “Uhm, you should put on your seat belt...for safety,” she said, and Lexa looked up at her. Even though she had the sunglasses on, she could tell she was confused. “I-It's that strap there, and you just—here I'll help you,” she said, and reached in. She grabbed the seat belt and crossed it over her torso, but she had to lean in over her to clip it in, and she smiled awkwardly at how close she was to Lexa's face.

“Thank you, Clarke. You are very kind,” she said gently right next to her ear, and a chill ran down her spine.

_Focus. Focus. Focus._

“Y-Yup! No problem!” Clarke said a little too cheerfully, quickly pulling back, and she made sure Lexa's limbs were inside before she shut the door and paused for a moment, trying to wish away the blush on her face before she climbed into the passenger seat. She turned around to make sure Lexa was comfortable, who was looking all around inside of the car as Raven turned on the engine, and when she put the car in gear and began to drive, Lexa tensed up and reached out, holding onto the seat and the side of the door for a moment as she felt the car move. She quickly looked outside, watching as the world began to move by them.

Clarke smiled.

 

“Why do _I_ have to wait outside?” Clarke asked outside of the dressing room with her arms crossed while Raven and Lexa were inside, getting her dressed. They had gone throughout the entire store, grabbing various items of clothing until they had a mountain piled in the cart for Lexa to try on.

“Because, you have to get the full effect first hand!” Raven called out, and Clarke sighed. She turned and found a small bench and sat down to wait.

“No, put your leg through there.”

“This is uncomfortable.”

“Well, don't pull on that.”

“Why is it like this?”

“That's the style!”

Finally, the door opened, and Raven stepped out.

“Alright,” she sighed, and then smiled at Clarke. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She nodded, eager to see.

“Okay! Lexa, come on out!”

Clarke watched as Lexa stepped out, wearing those type of harem style 'joggers' that she had most noticeably seen on Justin Bieber, with the plaid shirt tied around her waist, but a long, slightly baggy t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, and Clarke frowned. Even Lexa looked uncomfortable and awkward.

“Uhh...no.” She shook her head, looking to Raven and wondering why she even picked this.

“No...” Raven shook her head, looking Lexa up and down. “No...it definitely looked different in my head. Back in.” She pointed Lexa, and grabbed a few more items from the cart before following her back in.

Clarke waited once again.

“What is this for?”

“Nothing really. Just for the look.”

“Then why am I wearing it if it serves no purpose?”

“Just leave it there!”

“Fine.”

Clarke raised a brow towards the door.

“Okay! Let's try this one,” Raven said, stepping back out, and Clarke watched as Lexa stepped out again.

She was wearing dark gray plaid capris with black straps, extra zippers, and chains hanging off of them, with a simple white muscle shirt, and Clarke's brows pulled together as she saw a tie around her neck, and a black fedora on her head with her hair covering part of her face, and she was reminded of the punk rock Avril Lavigne style. It was cute...but it was not for her.

“Nope.” Clarke put her thumb down, shaking her head.

“Come on, she looks like she could be a punk rocker!” Raven said, but Clarke shook her head again.

“This is...not cool?” Lexa questioned.

“Noooo.”

“Fine. Back in,” Raven sighed, and Lexa turned around with a slight frown, heading back in.

Clarke sighed, leaning back on the small bench as she waited once more.

“Okay, okay. How about this one?” Raven asked, popping back out, and Lexa followed.

She was wearing baggy overalls with one strap un-hooked, a tight, short sleeve, black turtleneck underneath, and a beanie on her head, and Clarke made a face at Raven.

“Where are you finding these styles? In an early two thousands magazine?” she asked, and Raven sighed again.

“I thought the overalls look would be cute and fun! The late nineties-early two thousands look _is_ making a comeback, you know,” she defended, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

“I think you're trying too hard to give her a 'look',” she said, and turned her eyes to Lexa. “Is there anything _you_ want to try?” she asked, and Lexa glanced down for a moment in thought, before looking back up.

“There were a few items...” she said somewhat hesitantly, and Clarke smiled.

“Why don't you try putting something together,” she said, and Lexa nodded, heading over to the cart and grabbing a few items from the mountain of clothes. She glanced at them almost shyly before heading back in— _without_ Raven this time, who pouted when Clarke stopped her from following.

“She might need help!”

“She's _fine_.”

It took a few minutes before she finally came back out, and they looked up to see her wearing a fitted, dark grey v-neck shirt, black jeans, and a form-fitting, black, leather jacket. She kept her eyes down at first as they took in her appearance, before finally looking up to see their reaction.

“Hmm...” Raven tilted her head, nodding. “Alright, sort of a Rosa Diaz bad ass look. I dig it.” She smiled, and Clarke smiled as well as Lexa looked towards her. She looked more mature and tough, yet still held this sort of elegant mysteriousness to her.

“Yeah. It suits you,” she said, and Lexa smiled gently back.

Suddenly, Raven was off with the cart again.

“Alright so we gotta start _all over again_. Channel some Emma Swan style...We could probably throw some blazers in there over t-shirts and jeans, you know, to go for a casual Shane McCutcheon or Detective Decker look...I bet that would suit her too—Or maybe I should just dress her like me...I mean, I would wear that...” she began to ramble off, looking through the clothes again, and Lexa looked to Clarke with slightly worried eyes.

“We have to start all over again?” she whispered, and Clarke threw Lexa a sympathetic smile.

“Are you two coming or what?” Raven called back impatiently from halfway across the store already, and began walking away with the cart again.

“Sorry,” Clarke whispered back, and Lexa smiled in defeat with a light shrug as they began to follow.

 

Nearly another two hours and they had bought a decent amount of clothes.

“That was fun, wasn't it?” Raven asked as they carried the shopping bags out to the car, still energized and bouncing as the two somewhat dragged behind.

“Without trying to sound selfish of myself, I thought I had more stamina than this...” Lexa said quietly to Clarke. “This shopping is tiresome.”

“It does kind of _wear_ on you,” Clarke chuckled at her own pun, but Lexa just simply stared at her, and she looked away awkwardly as she blushed with embarrassment.

 _Good one, Griffin!_ _Just h_ _ow lame are you?_ She scolded herself as Raven was already at the car, tossing the bags into the trunk and ready to go. She looked up at Lexa again.

“You did good, though.”

“I do not see how people do this for 'fun', as Raven says.” Lexa slightly frowned, and Clarke chuckled again as they finally made it to the car and put the bags in the trunk.

“Alright, what's next? Do we need accessories? Should we get more shoes? What about swimwear? Do you think she would need that at any point?” Raven asked quickly as they got into the car.

“Whoa, slow down, Raven. I think she's good for now seeing as we still don't know how long she's even going to be here,” Clarke reminded her, and Raven nodded.

“True. I wonder how Monty's coming along with the supplies...” she said as she started up the car and headed out of the parking lot, and as Clarke thought about this, it already sort of saddened her to think of Lexa leaving at some point.

 _She's only been here for like a day. Slow down._ Clarke reminded herself, but still, in the _very_ short amount of time, she had already grown fond of the constant curious and confused presence around her. It was honestly something new and exciting in Clarke's somewhat dull life.

She wasn't sure when her life had become this way, but she had become used to doing the same things each day: Go to work, come home, paint, cook, sleep, repeat. Even hanging out with the group had become somewhat routine: Order food, drink, watch a movie, say goodbye, sleep.

Not that it was bad. She didn't really have any complaints, but she didn't realize just how routinely her life had become that it was sort of a breath of fresh air to have someone completely new around, and to discover new things. She stole a glance at her through the side mirror, watching as Lexa looked around with curious eyes, and it made Clarke want to go out and explore the world all over again with her.

Suddenly, Lexa's stomach growled, and they both looked back at her as she blushed lightly. It had been a few hours, after all.

“I think someone's hungry.” Raven smirked, and turned on her blinker. “I know where we could go.”

 

“What are 'burg-ers'? And is there really a king in there?” Lexa asked curiously as they pulled into the parking lot.

“No, it's just the name of the place, and burgers are...well...beef that is...uhm...” Clarke looked to Raven for help.

“—Overly-processed food that isn't entirely good for you but tastes _so_ good,” she said with hunger in her eyes, and Lexa continued to stare out at the building curiously.

“If it is not good for you, why do you eat it?”

“Because it's fast, pretty cheap, and easy.” Raven shrugged as she got out, and they climbed out after her.

“It smells...strange,” Lexa noted, sniffing the air.

“Just wait until you try a taste. It'll rock your world.” Raven smiled, and paused. “Oh yeah, you can take the sunglasses off when we get inside or people might look at you funny—And don't forget, you're Lexa Woods, the big ol' lesbian,” she said, and Clarke shook her head at her.

“ _Raven.”_

They headed inside and thankfully it wasn't too packed, but they did have to wait in line. Clarke tried her hardest not to adoringly watch Lexa stare towards the back where all of the equipment was; her mind obviously trying to process what she was seeing and hearing.

“Where are the livestock?”

“What do you mean?” Raven asked with a creased brow.

“To make the food,” Lexa said curiously.

“Oh, no...it's processed food. Meaning it comes pre-made in packages and preservatives to make it last a long time.”

Lexa remained silently confused.

“It's good. Trust me.” Raven nodded.

“Oh, Clarke, I am sorry. I forgot,” Lexa then said, and Clarke looked to her curiously, but before she could ask, Lexa grabbed her hand and held it, though not so much as intertwining their fingers and holding it down by their thighs in a relaxed way, but she held it up at mid-torso and stood there confidently.

Immediately, butterflies rushed through Clarke's stomach, and she could feel herself blushing fiercely. It made her too nervous to correct Lexa's way of holding hands, but thankfully Raven had noticed.

“No, like this,” she whispered, showing her with her own hands.

“Oh,” Lexa said, and finally intertwined their fingers, causing Clarke's palm to quickly feel clammy as her heart raced.

“And hold it lower, more relaxed. You're not like...a royal ruler or whatever.” Raven waved her hand away, and Clarke saw Lexa lightly frown for a second before they finally made it to the register.

“Hi! My name is Melissa. How can I help you today?” she asked cheerfully as Raven stared up at the menu, mumbling to herself and trying to decide what to get that she didn't answer the girl right away.

“Hello, burger servant Melissa. My name is Lexa Woods, the big ol' lesbian.” Lexa nodded, and the girl stared at her strangely for a moment as Clarke's eyes widened slightly, and she forcefully chuckled loudly as she stepped in front of her.

“Ha ha ha—Y-Yeah, hi. Uhm...” She cleared her throat as the girl continued to stare strangely. “S-She's not from here…Can we just uh, get two number one's, please?”

The girl's smile slowly came back as she punched it in, and waited for Raven to order.

“Yeah...can I get...a number one as well, extra everything—large fries...with a chocolate shake instead of a soda...No, do the soda as well, and also onion rings, and...eh, I guess that's it.” She shrugged. “—No, wait, an apple pie as well. Thanks.” She finally nodded and paid.

Once they got their food and sat down, Raven rubbed her hands excitedly, looking at everything piled on the tray.

“Will someone else be joining us?” Lexa asked quietly, eyeing all of the food, and Clarke shook her head.

“Unfortunately, that's mostly all for her,” she said, and Lexa looked surprised, causing Clarke to chuckle. “Yeah, girl eats like a lion.”

“Alright, so...dig in! I want to see your reaction,” Raven urged, motioning to Lexa with a wide smile, and she slowly picked up her burger, carefully unwrapping it with curiosity. Even Clarke was a bit curious to see how she'd feel about it, and they watched as she glanced at the two, before taking a bite.

She chewed it slowly, blinking a few times, but it was hard to tell what her reaction was due to her impressive facial skill to appear impassive.

“...Well? How is it?” Raven asked eagerly, and Lexa swallowed rather roughly.

“It is...” She thought for a moment, and Raven leaned in.

“ _Yes?”_

“...Salty,” she said, looking up with uncertain eyes, and Raven's brows pulled together.

“You don't like it?” she asked with slight disappointment, and Lexa shrugged gently.

“It is interesting?” She lightly made a face, and Raven stared at her blankly as she leaned back.

“I knew it. She _is_ an alien,” she deadpanned, and Clarke rolled her eyes.

“She's probably just not used to the high salt content our world is accustomed to,” she defended, and smiled to Lexa as she seemed slightly guilty for not liking it as much as Raven hoped. “Try the fries, they might not be as bad.”

And boy did she.

“These are much better.” Lexa nodded after she had eaten a fry, and then she put another in her mouth. And then another...and then another.

Clarke and Raven watched with surprise as she began to devour her fries almost faster than Clarke had even made it halfway through her sandwich.

“I take it you like them?” Clarke asked with raised brows.

“Fries are cool,” she said with nearly a mouth full of them already, nodding her head.

“Maybe she's not an alien after all...” Raven said slowly with a nod.

Clarke looked over to see an old woman watching Lexa stuff fries in her mouth with surprise and confusion, before looking away.

“Clarke, are you going to eat yours?” Lexa then asked with the last of her fries still stuffed in her cheek as she chewed.

“Uhh...Lexa...” Clarke was going to warn her about choking, but when she looked up, she finished chewing and swallowed.

“—Err, I am sorry. I mean, babe.” She smiled gently at her.

Clarke just about melted, and totally forgot what she was going to say until Raven nudged her arm.

“N-No, go ahead.” She quickly snapped out of it, pushing her fries toward Lexa, who smiled wider than she had seen as she began to eat her fries.

“Cool.”

She glanced over at Raven, who was smirking smugly next to her, and she rolled her eyes.

 

They finally made it back to Clarke's house and decided to lounge around in the living room for the rest of the day while Lexa explained her world to Raven as she did Clarke, though there were some new things that she hadn't told Clarke yet.

“Wait, so...you have a competition to the death to decide who will be the new commander that rules over the city after the current one dies?” Raven asked as the evening settled in, and Lexa nodded. “How do you choose who competes?”

“Uhm...The best and most skillful warriors from the clans step up to compete,” Lexa said, but as her eyes landed on Clarke, they seemed a little guarded, and she began to wonder.

She said she didn't have any siblings or...any family really for that matter. Did one of them compete and fail? Or was it her real partner who lost and that's how she died? Was their love forbidden because she was competing to be the ruler of their people? But didn't she say it was because of who _she_ was that it was forbidden?

Then, Raven asked the next question that started to buzz through her mind among the others.

“Okay, so...where does the black blood come into play? You said there weren't many others that were like you.”

Clarke eagerly waited to hear Lexa explain, feeling like something was off, or that she wasn't fully telling them everything.

“It is just a special mark that some of us have, and...” She seemed to hesitate for a moment. “If you have it...you are required to live and serve the Commander and no one else.”

“Kind of like a nun and all of that devotion stuff?” Raven asked, and Lexa tilted her head in confusion.

“None of what?”

“No, a _nun_.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Raven waved it away. “So...you have the Commander, and then what else?” she pressed on.

“Well...there is the ambassadors from each clan that help with making decisions for the people, and then the Warrior Chief, who helps _Heda—_ the Commander—with the battle plans during times of war, and then there is the _Fleimkepa_ , who is _Heda_ 's mentor and adviser.”

“Wow...” Raven nodded her head, taking all of it in. “Sounds like a lot of...hoopla.”

“Yeah,” Clarke agreed, trying to read Lexa's face, but she kept her features very well stolid.

“Well anyway, it's getting late so I think I'm going to get going,” Raven said, standing up and stretching. “I've gotta stop by Monty's to see what he came up with and then work early tomorrow. You kids have fun, and Lexa, remember what I told you,” she said, and Lexa nodded, confusing Clarke.

“Remember what?” she asked, having not remember Raven ever telling Lexa anything important, but Raven ignored her and waved, heading towards the door quickly.

“ _Raven...”_

“Good night!”

Once they were left alone, Clarke turned to Lexa with creased brows.

“Remember what?”

“Uhm...” Lexa looked down for a moment as she sat on the couch, making Clarke nervous and suspicious, and then looked back up. “She said not to tell you.”

“Did she now?” Clarke crossed her arms over her chest, staring at Lexa with a stern face. “Tell me.”

Lexa stared at her for a moment, and for once, she actually seemed a little timid, but remained silent.

“...Lexa.” She raised her brows. “If you don't tell me, I will withhold _all_ the bananas from you... _and_ fries,” she threatened, and finally, with a look of worry and defeat, Lexa sighed.

“Fine...she said it would help us get more acquainted with each other to further convince your family that we are together...” she slowly began, and Clarke's curiosity only spiked. “Although, I do not understand how it would...but she said not to question it, or tell you, and to just do it.”

“...What did she tell you to do?” she asked cautiously but also eagerly, and Lexa finally looked up at Clarke.

“I am to be what she called...'the big spoon'?”

Clarke pinched the bridge of her nose. She just didn't give up, did she?

“I am seriously going to kill her,” she sighed, imagining the smug look on Raven's face right about now.

“...Clarke?” Lexa spoke up quietly after a moment.

“Yes, Lexa?”

“May I have a banana?”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am ashamed.  
> I said I would try not to abandon this story, and I did for a looong while there. I apologize! I just get so many different ideas for stories in my head that I end up straying from one to another. XD  
> Anyway, here's an update finally! Not too much craziness going on in this one, just something for you guys so you know I haven't completely abandoned it!  
> Thank you guys for all the support!

She did not get the banana.

Instead, Clarke offered to make them dinner, if Lexa could wait just a bit longer, so she did not seem too upset from what Lexa had told her about what Raven said.

“Dinner sounds good,” Lexa said rather happily, and Clarke smiled.

“You seem to eat just about as much as Raven does,” she chuckled, and Lexa felt like that was more of a compliment, and she smiled somewhat proudly.

“What weapons will we use?” she then asked, and Clarke paused, before shrugging.

“I mean, I guess we'll be using knives and pans...” she said, clearly thinking about it, and Lexa slightly made a face.

“Clarke, I do not think you will be able to kill well with a...pan,” she said, and Clarke looked up curiously, before she seemed to realize what she had meant.

“ _Oh_ , you mean actual weapons,” she said, and chuckled with a shake of her head. “No, we don't need to kill anything.”

“Then, how will we make a decent dinner?” Lexa asked curiously.

“I know it might seem like there's not much, but I do have more things here I can cook. We don't kill often ourselves for meat here in our world. We buy a lot of things from the store,” she said, and Lexa nodded.

“I see,” she said, though she felt slightly sullen that she would not be able to show off her hunting skills to Clarke. Perhaps she would have to surprise her sometime.

She told Lexa she could sit in what they called the 'room of living' if she did not want to stand in the kitchen and watch her.

“I could help you,” Lexa offered instead, and though Clarke seemed slightly surprised, she smiled.

“Okay, well...we'll just make something quick, since it's already getting late,” Clarke suggested, and Lexa nodded, clasping her hands behind her back and waiting for instructions.

“Let me know where I can help,” she said, and Clarke looked around for a moment in the large cold box— _rafrigetor?_ —or whatever she had called it before.

“Hmm...I'm thinking chicken...maybe mashed potatoes, and...is frozen corn okay?” Clarke looked back at her, and Lexa made a face.

“We are going to eat it frozen?” she asked, and Clarke chuckled, reaching into the top part and pulling out a noisy shiny bag.

“No, we'll just put it in a bowl and microwave it since that will be faster,” she said, and again, Lexa did not know what she had meant, but watched as Clarke walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a somewhat large bowl. “Here, just open this up, dump it all in the bowl while I get the butter, and then I'll let you put it in the microwave,” she said, pointing to a black box sitting on the counter.

Lexa was beyond confused, but she took the bag from Clarke, pulling it open, and dumping the contents of what appeared to be single pieces of corn into the bowl while she went back to the _rafrigetor_ _—refrigigator—_ _refri—_ the large cold box.

She watched as Clarke grabbed a knife, and then opened up this oddly light yellow rectangular stick from a package, and began to cut it, dropping it into the bowl.

“Okay, see that sort of button looking part at the bottom? Push that and the door will open. And then put the bowl inside and press the number five and then zero twice, and the button that says start,” she instructed, and Lexa nodded.

She took the bowl and stared at all of the buttons with numbers on it, before pushing in the bottom part, and just as Clarke said, the door opened. Lexa peered inside a bit cautiously, remembering what had happened with the 'toaster' earlier that morning, and placed the bowl on the glass plate inside. She pushed the buttons with the number five and the number zero on it twice and then pressed the 'start' button. She waited while Clarke pulled out other pans.

“...Clarke,” she said after a moment, looking up. “Nothing is happening.”

Clarke glanced back. “Oh, you have to shut the door again, then hit the start button,” she said, and Lexa nodded.

She shut the door with a click, and then leaned down, pushing the 'start' button once more.

After a quick second, the box beeped, a light turned on inside, and a strange noise came from it, and she pulled back cautiously, staring at it strangely. What was it doing?

She leaned in, looking through the odd screen and watching as the bowl began to rotate.

“What is happening?” she asked, noticing those strange square pieces Clarke had cut begin to deform and turn into liquid, and Clarke looked back again.

“It's heating up the corn,” she said, and Lexa was intrigued, staring back into it closely.

What a strange world they lived in.

“So...” Clarke spoke up after a moment as she cut the potatoes. “If I remember correctly, those who compete to become Commander fight to the death until there is only one left?”

Lexa froze for a moment, but thankfully Clarke was not watching her.

“...Yes.”

“If you don't mind me asking, did you have someone close to you that competed?” she asked casually, and Lexa's stomach tensed.

“...Why do you ask, Clarke?” she questioned, keeping her voice even.

“Just because...” she seemed to slightly hesitate. “When Raven was talking to you about it, you seemed...tense.” Clarke noted, finally looking up at her, and Lexa kept her features impassive.

“Well,” she tried to think, “we become close to those in our clans. They are our family, but each clan is part of us all as well. It is hard to lose members of your family,” she said, and her eyes caught sight of Clarke's hands freezing for a moment. She became curious as she looked up at the side of Clarke's face, only to find her staring down at the potatoes in a rather sad, distant way. “...Clarke?”

She seemed to snap out of it, and resumed cutting. “Yes, I'm sorry. I understand. That was silly of me to ask.”

Lexa seemed curious by this however, and she leaned over slightly to try to look at her better.

“Clarke, did you...lose someone you were close to?”

Clarke looked up at her and she could see that sadness in her eyes again, even though she smiled gently, and after a moment, she nodded her head.

“Yes...my father.”

“I am sorry for your loss,” Lexa said gently with a nod as she could see true heartbreak in Clarke's eyes, and she shrugged gently.

“It's okay. I'm okay now. It was quite a few years ago— _ah!_ ” She suddenly hissed, and pulled her hand up.

Immediately, blood began to run down her finger.

“Shit...” She set the knife down, and rushed over to a metal bin in her counter. As she turned a knob, water started pouring out of a spout like the shower.

“Clarke, are you alright?” Lexa asked worriedly as she walked over. She had made a decent sized cut on her finger that did not seem like it was going to stop bleeding any time soon.

“Yeah,” Clarke sighed. “These are brand new knives so I got myself pretty good. I just need to wrap it.”

“Allow me to help,” Lexa said, and she grabbed the knife, cleaning it off while Clarke faced the metal bin and cleaned her finger.

Lexa looked around for anything she could use, trying to be quick, and then grabbed the bottom of Clarke's shirt, tugging it lightly to make it taut.

“Lexa—wait, what are you—“ Clarke did not get to finish as Lexa suddenly cut into it, tearing off a strip with a loud ripping sound, and she gasped. _“—Lexa!”_

She froze at the loud shocked tone of Clarke's voice, holding a piece of her shirt, and looked up to see her eyes wide. Her brows pulled together. “...What is the matter, Clarke? I was just going to wrap it for you.”

Clarke stared at her for a silent moment. “I...have that first-aid kit in the guest bedroom...” she muttered, staring down rather sadly at her torn shirt.

“...Oh.” Lexa lowered her hand, and glanced around awkwardly before setting the strip of Clarke's shirt and the knife on the counter. “I am sorry.”

Clarke lightly sighed, but looked up and smiled gently. “It's alright. You were just trying to help.”

Lexa looked down, feeling terrible as it seemed Clarke was rather fond of her top. “I will...retrieve the kit.”

She quickly left the kitchen and went into the guest bedroom to get the first-aid kit. She spotted it on the bed, and as she went to grab it, something quickly caught her eye and she stopped to look over at it.

There, on a wooden desk and chair sat her sword, the Commander's armor and cape, and the symbol, and she stood there for a moment staring at the items.

She began to wonder why it was that she did not want to tell them who she truly was. What was holding her back? It was not like it would change anything here, right? They would not treat her differently. She was just the Chosen Commander. The one who fought and killed those she knew and grew up with to live. The one who just recently united twelve clans to create the Coalition, like no other commander has done before. The one who lost her love _because_ she was the Commander.

Suddenly, she realized what it must have been.

Ever since she became _Heda_ she has sacrificed and lost too much already. Even before then, when she found out she was a _Natblida_ , she had gained so much weight on her shoulders. Creating the Coalition was a risk that thankfully had not backfired yet. Going against her mentor's wishes and continuing to be with Costia became a bigger risk that turned for the absolute worst. And still allowing _Azgeda_ into her Coalition was the most questionable risk, even after their queen took the life of her love.

It was all a heavy burden and loss that weighed on her shoulders—the _Commander's_ shoulders.

But here...she was not _Heda_.

In this world, she was just known as _Lexa_ , and though she had only introduced herself as just Lexa to keep her sacred identity from being revealed, she secretly and selfishly preferred to keep it that way. It was sort of a nice break from all of the responsibilities and failure that had fallen on her, even though she was more than ready to get back to the familiarity of her world, it was nice to just... _relax_ and take a break for a moment.

She realized that ever since Costia's death, she had not had the chance to mourn. She could not, because it would have been a sign of the Commander's weakness. But here... _Lexa_ could mourn, and feel, and let go, and perhaps no one would call her weak.

As she stared at the weighted items, she could feel tears burning the corners of her eyes for the first time in a long time, and she was slightly surprised. She realized here, she could _feel._

“Lexa? Did you find it?” She heard Clarke call out from the kitchen, and she blinked the threat of her tears away. Not now. She would not break now, and she began to head out of the bedroom.

Maybe she was not as keen to get back just yet.

 

“There,” Lexa said once she was finished wrapping Clarke's finger.

“Thank you.” Clarke smiled, checking out Lexa's work, and then looked down at her uneven shirt. “Let me just...change, and then finish up dinner real quick and then we can sit down and eat.”

Once they finished, Lexa had gone right to the table, but it seemed Clarke had a different thought in mind as she went towards the room of the living, and sat her plate on the small table in front of the soft chairs.

“I thought maybe we could eat in here.” She smiled, picking up something small and black and holding it in her hand, and Lexa nodded, following with her plate.

She sat down, and just as Clarke was going to sit down as well, she stopped.

“—Oh, let me get us something to drink,” she said, and began to head back toward the kitchen.

Lexa was staring down at her food with eagerness, but she was going to wait until Clarke returned to start eating, when she heard a noise and looked up.

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine as she saw a man standing there with what looked like a weapon the Mountain Men used.

How did they get here? How did they find them?

Without another thought however, she quickly jumped up and over the back of the soft chair and ran straight for the kitchen, ignoring the pain of her leg as adrenaline raced through her.

“ _Oh!”_ Clarke gasped as Lexa came darting around the wall, nearly dropping the drinks as Lexa almost collided into her. She grabbed Clarke to stop her from going further, looking mildly panicked and alert.

“Lexa, what—“

“— _Shh,_ Clarke! There is someone in the other room!” she whispered urgently, and Clarke's brows pulled together worriedly.

“What?” she whispered, and Lexa nodded.

“He has a weapon.”

Clarke's eyes went wide, and Lexa could see panic wash over her face. “Are you serious? Is it the police? Someone from the Science Center? How did they get in here?” she asked worriedly, and Lexa shrugged.

“I do not know,” she said, and then look around. She did not see the knife Clarke had used before, nor did they have time to waste, and she decided to grab the small pot she made potatoes in. She picked it up and held it firmly in the air.

_Plop._

“ _Lexa,”_ Clarke hissed as the left over mashed potatoes fell onto the floor, but Lexa put a finger to her lips with a stern look, and Clarke nodded.

Her heart raced as she realized her sword was in the guest bedroom, but maybe she could get to it, and she slowly peeked around the corner. She saw the man again and ducked her head back.

“Where is he?” Clarke whispered fearfully.

“He is at the small window,” Lexa whispered back, and Clarke's brows pulled tighter together.

“Small window? Let me see,” she said, and she carefully inched over to the edge of the wall, and slowly poked her head out. She looked around for a moment, and glanced back towards Lexa. “Where?”

Lexa stepped forward and carefully looked around the wall with her, and for a moment the man was gone, until he popped up again. She quickly pulled them back. “There! Did you see him?”

Clarke still looked confused, and Lexa watched as she poked her head out once again and stared for a moment longer, until suddenly…

She began to laugh.

“Clarke, be quiet!” Lexa warned, confused as to why she found this humorous when there was a threat among them, but she only continued to laugh.

“Lexa, it's alright,” she said through her laughter, and began to walk out from behind the wall.

Lexa became worried, and reached out to grab her. “Clarke, stop!” she warned, pulling her back, but Clarke kept laughing, and Lexa was actually become rather irritated that Clarke was not taking this seriously. “Why are you laughing?”

“Lexa, that's the TV,” she said, laughing harder, but Lexa only stared at her with confusion as she looked up. “The 'small window' is not a window at all. It's a television set,” she chuckled, trying to explain. “It's...a box that displays visuals for us to watch. Like moving pictures. It's not real. Look,” she said with a smile, and began to walk out again with no fear.

Lexa slowly followed, holding the metal pot and keeping herself on alert as she stepped out from behind the wall, and Clarke pointed.

“See? Hello! Look over here!” She waved her hand, but the man didn't seem to notice, and as Lexa stared confused and curious, she realized he was in a different setting, and...much smaller in appearance, and more people were popping up.

“It is...not real?” she asked, and Clarke nodded.

“Go look,” she said, walking further in, and Lexa slowly followed.

They walked right up to the _'teevee'_ , and Lexa glanced at Clarke for a moment, who nodded, and she looked behind the box, only to find nothing behind it. She then slowly reached her hand out, and her fingers came into contact with an invisible wall that felt like glass, and she stared in awe.

“What...” she couldn't find the proper question or words.

“It's for entertainment. You know, like a play with different story lines and settings on each channel. But they also have other things like cartoons, cooking shows, stuff like that.”

“Oh...” Lexa trailed off, still uncertain how this device worked or what 'car-toons' were, but it was fascinating. It looked real, as if the people were standing right before her.

“Come on.” Clarke carefully took the pot from her. “Let's sit down,” she said, a giggle still escaping here and there, and Lexa followed her back to the big soft chair. She set the pot down, but was holding that small black device, which appeared to have buttons on it, and pointed it towards the _'teevee'_. “Let's find something easy to watch,” she said, and Lexa watched in confused curiosity.

“How do they fit all of those people in there?” she asked, and Clarke chuckled.

“It's all recorded on a device, in other places, and then displayed all over the country so that everyone can watch it. They're not actually in there,” she explained.

“Like...memories, or dreams in your head?” Lexa asked, trying to get a better understanding, and Clarke somewhat shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess you could say it like that,” she said as she continued pressing buttons, watching the _'teevee'_ , and finally smiled. “Here we go. This should be easy for you to follow.”

Lexa watched as music began playing from the box, flashing different moving images of people, and she saw the words _'The Office'_ displayed across it.

“What is _'The Off-_ _I_ _ce'_?” she looked to Clarke curiously, who had begun to eat.

“It's actually pronounced 'office'. It's a great show. Here, I'll give you a quick rundown...” She set her fork down, and turned to Lexa with a rather excited look.

Lexa tried to keep up with Clarke's explanation of this 'office setting' on the box, but as she listened, she couldn't help but watch Clarke with intrigue. She seemed happy about this...'show', her hands moving excitedly as she spoke, and the corners of her lips permanently turned upwards. There was also this sort of glint in her eyes that captivated her, and she found herself being reminded of Costia and the way she spoke about...life, as if the world they lived in was not dark, cold, and ruthless as it had soon proved to be after.

It was rather...uplifting to see someone so excited and passionate about something so simple again that she had not realized how much she missed it, when most of what Lexa knew anymore was just how to survive to the next day. She realized she had forgotten what it was like to enjoy the small simple things, and she wondered if she could allow herself to do that during her stay here.

Suddenly, she realized she had missed most of what Clarke had said.

“—So, yeah, that's about all. It's really funny. Just wait,” she said with her lips still turned upright, returning her lit up eyes toward the box, and Lexa did as well.

They sat, ate, and watched the people, and though Lexa did not understand some of it, there were parts of what Clarke had said that was true. Some of their reaction to things that were happening humored Lexa, but it was apparently more humorous to Clarke as small giggles escaped her.

“ _Here's a little newsflash...it's not funny!”_ The man in the box yelled, and though he seemed angry, Lexa could still hear Clarke's giggles. _“In fact, it's pretty un-freakin funny!”_

Suddenly, the man in the box turned and punched a hole in the wall, and Lexa stared in surprise by his anger, but a snort of laughter burst from Clarke.

As she looked to Clarke, who had a mouth-full of food and holding her hand over her it as she laughed, Lexa found herself smiling as well, but it was not because of the man punching the wall.

She found she rather quite liked her laugh.

They continued to watch the 'show', and at one point Lexa realized she was becoming thirsty. She almost forgot Clarke had brought drinks out for them, and she grabbed her cup to take a sip. Before it reached her lips however, she could smell something very sweet, but she did not want to interrupt Clarke to ask as she watched the _'teevee'_ intently, so she decided to just take a drink of the dark liquid.

Immediately, her mouth was filled with this bubbling popping sensation, and the sweetness almost threw her back a bit, but she forced herself to remain calm and swallow it, lightly making a face until she began to cough.

“Are you alright?” Clarke immediately looked to her, and Lexa nodded, though still coughing, as she set the cup down.

“W-What is that?” she asked as she tried to control herself.

“It's called soda. I'm sorry, I probably should have asked what you wanted to drink.” Clarke frowned, and suddenly, Lexa felt her patting her back gently.

“It is a-alright. I was just not...prepared,” Lexa said, and suddenly, something inside of her jumped, and she made a strange squeaking-like noise. She became confused, and then it happened again. And again. “Clarke, wha _—hic—_ t is ha _—hic—_ ppening? _—hic—_ ” She looked to her worriedly as it continued.

What was wrong with her? Why was her chest uncontrollably jerking and causing her to make these strange squeaking noises?

“You have the hiccups,” Clarke said, giggling lightly, and though Lexa became a little less worried, she was still confused.

“What _—hic—_ are _—hic—_ How do I _—hic—_ stop it? _—hic—_ “ she asked, frowning lightly.

“It's like a muscle spasm, and most of the time you just have to wait it out until it stops on its own,” Clarke said with a sympathetic smile, and when Lexa 'hiccup'-ed again, Clarke seemed to blush lightly as she looked down.

“— _hic—_ What?” Lexa managed to get out between them, and Clarke looked up.

“Oh, nothing. They just...uhm,” she seemed a bit nervous, chuckling lightly. “Your hiccups just sound...cute. My dad's always sounded like a loud frog.” She laughed, and looked up towards her, before her eyes went towards the _'teevee'_ again, but a small smile tugged at Lexa's lips.

Suddenly, she did not quite mind having the 'hiccups'.

 

Eventually the 'hiccups' did stop, and even though they had finished eating, they continued to watch the _'teevee'._ Lexa noticed Clarke adjust herself into a more comfortable position at one point, bringing her legs up and curling them as she leaned her side more into the puffy armrest, and she looked over at Lexa.

“You can get more comfortable if you want,” she said, and Lexa looked around the large soft chair for a moment. She was used to sitting upright in firm chairs for meetings, never really having time to get 'comfortable' in one, but she scooted herself down a bit, and brought her legs up like Clarke had, but she stayed more upright still. It was more comfortable, and she smiled lightly as they continued watching.

As what Clarke had called _'the credits'_ flashed on the screen, meaning another _'episode'_ had ended from what she explained, Lexa looked over at Clarke to tell her something, but she found her fast asleep. She looked around for a moment, wondering if she should wake her, but it seemed late out, and even Lexa's eyes were becoming heavy.

She noticed a blanket draped over the big soft chair they sat on, and pulled it over them, giving it more to Clarke than herself, and carefully scooted even lower, being careful with her leg and trying not to wake Clarke up.

She had almost forgotten she was injured, as Clarke did an excellent job at stitching her up, and she had quite the higher pain tolerance due to years of her harsh living back home.

As she continued to watch Clarke's sleeping form rather than the _'teevee',_ she began to wonder all about what Monty and Raven tried to explain to her. They said she was from another world, like a reflection in a mirror, though some things were obviously different, and she began to wonder about herself, Clarke, and everyone else in these worlds.

If there was two...would that mean there was two of her? Two of Monty and Raven? Two of Clarke? If so, why had she never seen them before? Where was this world's Lexa? Clarke had said they were in Polis, even though it looked entirely different, but that meant there was in fact double of things, so...where was she? What would happen if she met herself? And where were they in her world?

Her thoughts became more and more confused as she thought about it, and she decided to leave the puzzling questions for now, and instead began to wonder how her world Clarke would be if she met her. What clan would she be in? What would she look like? Perhaps she would be a healer, more than a warrior, but perhaps she would also be a leader. She seemed like she considered all the factors of things, looked at the bigger picture, and that was definitely a trait for a leader, but she also had a kind heart from what Lexa had seen so far.

She smiled at the thought of meeting Clarke in her world, coexisting with each other, leading people together, and as she felt her eyelids becoming heavier, her mind took off with other possibilities of them side by side, until she fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke could feel herself slowly beginning to wake, the sunlight from outside trying to pass through her eyelids, and she felt slightly achy from the position she was in. She readjusted herself into a more comfortable position, until her consciousness started to became more aware, and she suddenly realized the last thing she remembered was being on the couch.

She opened her eyes, blinking a few times, and suddenly sat up.

“Lexa?” she asked out loud, looking around, but she was all alone in the living room, and a slight panic filled her. “Lexa?” she called out again. Where could she be? What time was it?

She got up to go look for her, wondering if maybe she went to sleep in the guest bedroom, but as she pushed open the door and looked in, the bed was empty. She frowned and wondered if maybe she was in the bathroom, but as she made it down the hall, she found the door open and the light off.

“Shit,” she muttered to herself, and quickly went back down the hall. “Lexa! Lexa, where are you?” she called out, hoping the girl would pop out somewhere, but all was silent.

_Shit! I lost her! What am I going to do! What am I going to tell Monty and Raven!_ She began to panic as she quickly went over to the small dining room table to grab her phone, when suddenly, something caught her eye, and she looked over to see the back door slightly cracked. Even more fear and worry filled her. Did she leave? Did someone come in and take her?

She quickly rushed over to the back door.

“Lexa!” she called out as she practically whipped it open and darted out, but she suddenly stopped, blinking rapidly in the bright light as she saw a form sitting in the middle of the small backyard, and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Lexa,” she called out to her again, and Lexa looked back at her over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“I am meditating,” Lexa called back, and Clarke nodded, looking around for a moment as she crossed her arms loosely over her torso from the slight chill in the air, as it was still very early in the morning.

“Why don't you come back inside?” she said after just a few seconds, worried that someone would see her, but Lexa suddenly motioned Clarke forward.

“Join me.”

Clarke hesitated a moment as Lexa turned and faced forward again, and she finally began to walk out towards the middle of the yard.

“Sit,” Lexa instructed her, and Clarke looked around again.

Though her neighbors didn't come outside often, and there was a fence that obstructed most of the view, she still felt weird about just sitting down in the middle of the yard.

“Why don't we go inside—“

“— _Sit.”_

Clarke immediately sat down next to Lexa.

“Alright. Just for a few minutes, and then—“

“— _Shhhhh,”_ she hushed her with a long sharp tone, and Clarke fell silent.

She looked around before watching Lexa, who was as silent and still as a statue, and she sighed. They should really get dressed and see what Monty and Raven came up with, and figure out more about what they were going to do when her mother and brother arrived. They should also see if Jasper had finished with her ID, and then search the news just in case if there was anything else going on. They still had a lot to do. She sighed once more.

Suddenly, Lexa spoke.

“Clarke.”

“Yes?” She looked at her, but her eyes were still closed as she remained still.

“I can feel you thinking,” Lexa said with a slight stern tone, and Clarke blushed.

“Sorry.”

She cleared her throat and tried to relax and clear her mind.

Suddenly, something popped up that she had never thought about. What if her mother had seen her before? This modern world's Lexa? What would happen?

Well...it was a big city, maybe she wouldn't know her, but what if she did? Or what if one of her friends knew Modern World Lexa? They would have to re-plan then, or think up of something quick. They should really consider all points to this.

“ _Clarke,”_ Lexa spoke up again with a firm voice.

“Yes?”

“Stop shaking your leg,” she demanded, and Clarke looked down to see that in fact, her leg was shaking quickly, and she stopped it.

“Sorry.”

“Just relax, and clear your mind,” she said more gently, but Clarke frowned.

“I'm trying, but we still have things we need to do, like—“

“—Close your eyes,” Lexa interrupted her, and Clarke hesitated a moment before she closed her eyes, sighing. “Listen.”

She didn't hear anything.

“To what?” she finally asked, and it was Lexa's turn to sigh.

“Listen to the way the wind moves through the leaves. Listen to the birds as they call out. Feel the sun on your skin, and focus on those things, rather than the thoughts in your mind. You think too much and too quickly that you lose focus on your other senses. It is important to clear your mind every once in a while, or everything gets piled up, and you lose sight of what is around you. Focus on the now, and not the future.”

Clarke took a deep breath and let it out, trying to focus on what Lexa had said. It was hard at first as her mind kept trying to wander, but she focused on the way when one bird would call out, the others would respond. She focused on the feeling of the heat from the sun on her skin, and how soft the grass was underneath her, and she felt herself beginning to relax. Her mind seemed to be slowing down, and she slowly began to realize that everything she was worrying about didn't seem like _such_ a big deal that it all had to be figured out right now.

She also felt a growing urge to create something. Not just for her work, but a personal work of her own. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that urge.

It was...quite nice.

“Clarke,” Lexa spoke up after a moment, and when she opened her eyes, she felt quite refreshed, actually.

“Yes?” She turned to her with a soft smile, and as they stared at each other for a moment, Clarke couldn't help but think how pretty Lexa looked in the morning sunlight.

Suddenly, she realized something. Were they sharing a moment? Why was Lexa staring at her like that? And was she leaning forward?

Clarke felt her heart beginning to pick up as Lexa was in fact getting closer, and she was sure they were going to kiss.

She held her breath, preparing to close her eyes.

Were they really going to kiss?

Suddenly, Lexa unexpectedly smacked her forehead with a quick tap.

“—Ow! What the hell, Lexa!” she said angrily, rubbing the now sensitive spot.

“You had a bug on your forehead,” Lexa simply said, before she got up. “Come on, Clarke. Let us go back inside now. I wish to have a banana.”

Clarke got up and followed her, still rubbing her forehead. She felt slightly embarrassed that she had thought Lexa was going to kiss her.

_This is all pretend, remember? She probably doesn't even like you like that._ She scolded herself once they were back inside.

However, as she prepared coffee for them while Lexa ate a banana, she looked over to see Lexa watching her carefully. She tried to brush it off, as she had come to find that Lexa often stared, but once the coffee was done and she got a cup for both of them, leaning against the counter, she looked up again to see her still staring.

“What?” she asked after a moment, but Lexa looked away.

“Nothing.”

“What is it?” Clarke asked with slight concern, and Lexa looked back up again. She seemed to be contemplating something.

“I...” she hesitated for a moment. “You just have really pretty eyes, Clarke.”

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she looked down at her cup, trying not to smile _too_ widely as she brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

“Thank you, Lexa.” She looked back up at her, and Lexa smiled gently, though she seemed slightly embarrassed or shy, and this only cause butterflies to flutter in Clarke's stomach.

“You also talk funny in your sleep,” she then said, and Clarke's smile dropped.

“...Thanks, Lexa.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-hoo! Another chapter!  
> Thank you guys for all of the amazing support! It is definitely a great motivation!  
> I hope you all enjoy this next one!

They went into their separate rooms to get ready and once Clarke was done, she texted Raven to see what was the plan for the day.

She was thankful that she worked for a painting company that was scheduled around a handful of events during the month, so she didn't have to worry about going to a regular daily job and leaving Lexa all alone for hours. Not to mention her father's life insurance that her mother had basically gave to her—because her mother made a great amount on her own that she didn't need all of it, _and_ because truthfully their relationship had become somewhat restrained once her father passed—helped out a lot. Though, sometimes she felt that it—and her little brother, of course—were the only things that kept whatever relationship that had remained between them, in tact.

In all honesty, sometimes her and her mother just didn't quite see eye-to-eye. She wanted her to be a doctor, or do something in the medical field because Clarke did have a knack for science and most things related, but towards the end of her high school years she decided to follow her true passion instead and pursued art.

Her father always encouraged her to go for what she loved, while her mother always told her to go for what was best for her future.

 

Lexa finally emerged from the guest room, and as Clarke looked up, she stopped for a moment to stare at her.

She was dressed in a simple black, fitted, v-neck shirt with jeans, and her hair was down in a cascade of waves, but just the simplicity of the outfit made her look _good_.

Lexa looked down at herself with a slight frown. “Is this alright?”

“Yes. Yes, you look good,” Clarke immediately said with a nod, and Lexa smiled gently.

“Thank you,” she said as she sat down next to Clarke on the couch.

She spotted the intricate tattoo on her arm, now that it was freely exposed.

“That is really cool. Did it hurt?” she asked, nodding to it, and Lexa brought her arm forward, looking down at it for a moment.

“Thank you, Clarke. Yes, it did, but it was worth it,” Lexa said with a bit of a prideful nod.

Now, Clarke really had to ask.

“What does it mean?”

“They represent great battles that I have won,” she said with a bit of a solemn face.

“Like kill marks?” Clarke asked, but Lexa shook her head.

“Yes and no. That would be...far too many if they were for each one,” she said, glancing away for a moment before looking back up with slight hesitance, but Clarke nodded in understanding. She understood now that their way of living was harsh. “I had decided to represent the victories of my battles, rather than the lives I had taken to achieve them.”

“I see. Well, I think that is a great way to represent them, and it looks really cool,” she said with a gentle smile, and Lexa looked down at her lap with a slight bashful smile of her own.

“Thank you again, Clarke.”

As she looked at her, she realized that even though she was this visibly strong, rather intimidating, and almost seemingly ruthless warrior, she still had feelings, a heart, and good morals about her; despite telling Clarke that having feelings was a sign of weakness in her world.

“Do you have any other tattoos?” Clarke then asked, and Lexa nodded, but before she could speak, there was the sound of quick and impatient knocks on the door.

Clarke looked over at it, before looking back to Lexa with a bit of concern, and they both stood up.

Lexa crossed over the living room and grabbed the wooden giraffe as Clarke slowly made her way over to the front door. She had a chain door lock, and so she opened the door as far as it would allow it to go, and peeked through.

Suddenly, Raven's face, donned with big dark sunglasses and her hood up, appeared right in front of it.

“Hurry up and open the damn door!” she whispered urgently, and Clarke shut the door to slide off the lock before she started to open it, and Raven quickly pushed it open faster, causing Clarke to stumble back slightly.

“Raven, what—“ She began to shut the door behind her, when it was suddenly being pushed open again, but she became confused as it turned out _not_ to be Monty. “—Octavia? W-What are you doing here?” she asked somewhat nervously.

“Hey, Clarke. Raven told me everything,” she said quickly and with nonchalance as she walked in, also wearing sunglasses and carrying a bag.

“Oh— _wait, what?”_ she asked incredulously when the words registered, and she looked around the door to make sure no one else was going to shove it back into her before shutting and locking it again. She quickly followed after them. “Wait!”

“So, this is her?” Octavia asked, staring at Lexa in the living room, who was holding the wooden giraffe and staring at Octavia with cautious stern eyes.

“Yup.” Raven nodded.

“She looks normal to me,” she said with a shrug.

“Wait till she starts speaking,” Raven said with a smirk.

“ _Excuse me._ What is going on?” Clarke demanded, walking around to stand in front of the two. “You told Octavia? Why?” she asked Raven.

“Hey! I'm your best friend, too!” Octavia said with a frown, and Lexa took a few steps closer, raising the giraffe slightly higher.

“Clarke, who is this?” she asked with a stern voice, and Clarke looked back at her.

“It's okay, Lexa. Octavia is another good friend. I'm just wondering why Raven told her,” she said, turning back to Raven with a glare. “No offense, Octavia, but from what I was told, _no one else was supposed to know about her._ ”

“It's actually not my fault for once!” Raven said, holding her hands up innocently, but Clarke raised a brow. She finally pulled her sunglasses off and the hood down. “I swear! Octavia and I had just gotten back from our morning workout when I got a visit from a Detective Charles Pike. He didn't know Octavia was in the kitchen when he started talking and asking questions, so when he left I explained everything,” she said with a shrug, and Octavia nodded.

“Okay, but what about her brother?” Clarke asked sternly with a raised brow, but Octavia sighed.

“You _really_ think I'm going to go and tell him, Clarke?” she asked with a raised brow of her own as she crossed her arms over her chest, and as Clarke stared at her for a moment, she finally shook her head.

“No...” she said quietly, feeling bad she had thought otherwise.

“Alright then,” Octavia said with a nod, and Clarke looked to Raven again.

“So, what did the detective say then?” she asked worriedly, but Raven waved her hand as she walked over to the couch to sit down.

“Nothing really. He said he watched the security cameras and was just trying to figure out as much as he could,” she said as they joined her. Lexa eventually put the giraffe down and sat next to Clarke.

“How did he find out your name and where you lived, though?” Clarke asked, and Raven shrugged again.

“Probably from my license plate. They have security cameras at the entrances and stuff, which is why I didn't hide Lexa at my apartment in the first place,” she said cleverly, tapping her temple. “I warned Monty already, because he asked who I was with when it all went down.”

“So, wait...then, he would have known it was you guys when that machine thing brought Lexa here, right?”

“Yes and no. He knew we snuck in there, but thankfully because of the machine blast, it messed up most of the security cameras in there,” she said with a smile.

Clarke still didn't think she was off of the hook though. “Wait...wouldn't he _think_ you guys did it, then?”

“He had asked the workers and those in charge of Becca's projects if it was possible to use the machine, but when they told him even Becca herself couldn't figure out how to use it on demand, he just kinda dismissed it.”

“So, what now? Wait, you didn't drive here, did you?” Clarke asked worriedly, but Raven shook her head.

“No, Clarke. I'm not an idiot. We came in Octavia's car, because he wouldn't have known which one was hers in the lot anyway if he knew she was there, and we made sure he was long gone before we left,” she said, somewhat offended.

“Then, why did you come in here all disguised and in a hurry?” she asked with slight irritation.

“Because I'm sure it won't be long before they come asking you questions,” she said with a sigh, and Clarke became worried.  
“Why would they come asking me?”

“Because Monty and I were in the room when it happened, so we're probably at the top of the list, and when he looks through records and stuff, he'll probably link you to both of us. Remember that time we convinced Monty to help us steal that old sign you liked from that abandoned store, and we got caught because Monty's pants got stuck on the fence and they had to cut him loose?” she asked, and Clarke nodded. “Yeah, we all got put on file, so I'm sure he'll come asking you questions about us, which is why Octavia and I brought hair dye just in case he shows up,” she then said, and Clarke watched Octavia pull out a box of dye from the bag she had carried in with her.

“Why would I need to change my hair?” Clarke asked with confusion, and Raven sighed.

“Not you, dork. _Her_.” She motioned to Lexa. “We were also thinking of cutting it.”

“ _No_ ,” Lexa finally spoke with a firm tone, and they all looked to her. “You will not cut my hair.”

Raven sighed again. “Sorry, Lexa, but we need to do _something_ just in case he shows up.”

“I will cut off your hand before you cut my hair,” she threatened as she gave her a predatory stare, and Raven stared at her with wide eyes.

“Someone's feisty about their hair...” Octavia said as she slightly leaned away.

“...Alright then, we won't cut it. Will you let us dye it at least?” Raven then asked with slight hesitance, and Lexa expression changed to a confused one as she looked to Clarke.

“They want to kill my hair?”

“No, dying it means to change your hair color,” she explained, but looked at the other two. “Don't you think that would be a bit drastic though? I mean, she looks different enough.”

“What about just something subtle? Like highlights, or even an ombré? It's trendy and modern,” Octavia suggested, and Clarke looked to Lexa, trying to picture it.

“That might be alright...” she said, but Lexa looked concerned. “Don't worry, it will just help you blend in more,” she said with assurance.

Lexa stared at her for a moment in thought, and then slowly nodded. “Alright. If you think that will help keep you safe, Clarke, then I will.”

Clarke blushed lightly, because Lexa thought she was doing it for her, rather than for herself.

“Great! Let's do it quick,” Raven said, getting up from the couch. “Oh, and I bought her a prepaid phone—don't worry, we used cash—so I can teach her how to use it and look more normal.” She smiled, pulling out a new phone from her pocket and handing it to Lexa, who took it and stared at it with confusion before looking up.

“...'Phone'?”

 

They all huddled in the bathroom with Lexa sitting on the stool that Clarke mostly used when she did her art, a towel draped over her shoulders, and holding the prepaid phone in both hands.

“This burns my nose,” she said, making a face at the smell of the hair product.

“Well, it's the cheaper stuff, so...” Raven shrugged, bent down next to her. She was showing Lexa how to use the phone. “Anyway, this little icon is for texting.”

“...Text-ing?”

“Yeah. It's like...electronic letters. It's faster and easier...”

Clarke stood and watched as Raven explained, while Lexa nodded but continued to look confused and wrinkle her nose as Octavia worked on her hair, and she found herself smiling gently. Even though all of this was new, confusing, and probably scary, she was still willing to do all of this, and Clarke held a deeper appreciation for Lexa.

“...Like this,” Raven said, tapping on the keyboard on the screen. “You try,” she said, and Lexa began to tap with one finger, looking intrigued as the letters popped up. “See? So now you can send messages to Clarke and stuff.” She smiled.

“Hey, Clarke, do you have an old towel I can use when we rinse out her hair?” Octavia asked, and Clarke nodded, heading out in the hallway to retrieve one.

When she came back, her brows pulled together as Raven was now whispering in Lexa's ear, and Lexa looked confused. She was about to ask Raven what she was telling her when Lexa spoke up first.

“'Sex-ting'?”

“ _Shh!”_

“— _Raven!”_

“What?” Raven quickly looked up at Clarke innocently, and she rolled her eyes with a scowl.

“Stop teaching her that stuff!” she said with irritation as she set the towel down, and Raven smiled sheepishly.

“You know,” Octavia spoke up after a moment, looking at Lexa through the mirror in front of them with curious eyes, “she kinda looks familiar...Raven, you said there's basically two of everything—err, everyone, right?” she asked, and Raven nodded.

“From what I've learned, I believe so, but we really haven't had any proof. Why? Have you seen her before?” she asked eagerly, and they all looked at her curiously.

“I think so...but I can't seem to remember where I think I've seen her before...” she said with a confused look, and she shrugged after a moment. “I don't know...Lexa, have you uhm...'seen' me before?” she asked oddly, but Lexa shook her head.

“To my knowledge, I have not.”

“I wonder where 'modern you' is...jeez that's weird to say,” Octavia said with a chuckle, but it got Clarke wondering.

“What do you think would happen if _she_ ran into herself?” she asked, nodding to Lexa, and Raven thought about it for a moment, before she shrugged.

“Probably nothing good to be honest.”

They all became silent for a moment, just looking at one another.

“Well, let's hope they don't,” Octavia said with a cautioned tone, and Clarke nodded. “Alright, let's wash this out. We don't want it to damage her hair more.”

 

Once they finished and Octavia dried it for her, which Lexa had ducked and knocked it out of her hand the first time she turned on the blow dryer, it didn't turn out too bad. It was still a very earthy-brown on top, that slowly lightened to a healthy dark golden brown at the bottom, but it wasn't too drastic.

“Wow. Good job, O,” Raven said with a nod as they checked out her hair.

“What? You think I didn't know what I was doing?” Octavia asked, mocking offense as they then went out towards the living room to throw the stuff away.

“What do you think?” Clarke asked as she leaned against the door frame, watching Lexa.

“This is...almost similar to my former mentor's hair,” she said quietly as she stared in the mirror, and Clarke could see her eyes glaze over in thought, and a slight sadness lightly painted over them.

“...You miss her?” Clarke asked quietly.

“Yes.” Lexa nodded, trying to keep her features impassive, but Clarke could see it in her eyes still.

“I'm sorry you're stuck here, but don't worry. We will get you home,” Clarke said with a sympathetic smile, and Lexa turned to her.

“Do not be sorry, Clarke. Though I know nothing of this world...I am glad I ended up here,” she said with an appreciative smile, and Clarke had to look down as she genuinely smiled.

She looked back up at her. “Me too.”

They stared at each other for a moment in silence, just smiling at one another before Raven had called out to them.

“Alright, so! Monty just texted me. Detective Pike visited him too, but he said we should be in the clear for now, so we just have to keep up with the plan until we can figure out how to get her back,” Raven said once they joined them. “We're going to get together later and see what we've got.”

“Okay.” Clarke nodded, but she noticed Octavia had been staring at Lexa intently the whole time, who glanced at Clarke before looking back to her.

“...Yes?”

“So...you're a warrior?” Octavia asked with curiosity.

“Yes.”

“And you know how to fight?” she asked, her eyes beginning to light up.

“Yes.”

“Can you teach me some moves?” she then asked with excitement, and Clarke chuckled.

“O, I don't think she wants to train you while she's here,” she said, but Lexa shrugged lightly.

“I would not mind. Why do you want to learn?” she asked her, and Octavia smiled sheepishly.

“Well...my boyfriend is built like a mountain and is a gym maniac, and he's always taking me down—playfully, of course, and so I was wondering if you could show me some moves so I could finally take him down?”

Lexa glanced at Clarke. “Well...if Clarke does not mind, I could show you right now?” she offered, and everyone turned their eyes to her.

“Uhm,” she looked to Raven, “we don't have any plans right now, do we?”

“Not really. Plus, I'd love to see Octavia get her butt kicked,” Raven said with a smile, who glared at her.

“Shut up. Anyway, can we do it right here in the living room?” Octavia asked Clarke excitedly.

“Sure, just...don't break anything, please.”

 

And so, for the next half hour Raven and Clarke watched Lexa teach Octavia some basic moves, and when it came time for Octavia to try, Lexa took her down with ease.

“ _Oophf!”_ she grunted as she hit the floor, and the two laughed.

However, Lexa lightly grunted in pain.

“Lexa, are you okay?” Clarke asked with concern as she held her thigh above the area where she had been shot.

“Yes. It is still somewhat sore, and I have not done any training while I have been here,” she said, testing her weight on her leg as Octavia got up.

“Maybe you guys shouldn't do this then,” Clarke said, but Lexa shook her head.

“No, I need to keep my training up, and strengthen my leg again. This is the perfect way to do it,” she said, standing firmly on both legs.

Clarke lightly frowned. “Well...let me check it at least,” she said, and Lexa nodded.

Suddenly, all of their eyes went wide as Lexa began to undo her pants and was about to pull them down.

“—Whoa, uhm, hold on!” Clarke shot her hands out to stop her. “L-Let's go in the guest bedroom,” she said, and Lexa nodded as Raven and Octavia snickered.

“Don't be _too_ long,” Raven called out after them, and Clarke glared back at her.

She shut the door to the guest bedroom.

“Alright, so...” she began awkwardly, but without hesitation, Lexa pulled her pants down and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Clarke tried not to blush—which was impossible as Lexa leaned back on the bed and stared at her—and she finally forced herself to focus and walked over, kneeling down in front of her.

She checked the wound, and despite some deep bruising and scabbing, it already looked sealed for the most part, which confused Clarke.

“Wow...I thought this would have taken a week to get to this point, at least...” she said with a creased brow, leaning in closer to look.

“Perhaps in my world we heal faster,” Lexa offered, and Clarke nodded curiously.

“Maybe...You said before that your world was similar, but that most buildings were damaged. Was there an explosion or something?” Clarke asked as she continued to look at the quickly healed wound.

“Yes, but that was before I was born. It was called _Praimfaya_ , and from what I have learned, it destroyed the entire Earth,” Lexa said as she watched Clarke.

“Huh...so there must have been radiation all over the Earth...” she somewhat mumbled more to herself. That would explain a lot if her and the people from her world healed faster due to radiation altering their body's chemicals and DNA. She was sure Raven and Monty would have a field day once they learned of this.

“Well, it looks almost completely healed.” Clarke sat back on her knees, still puzzled. “We could probably take the stitches out within a few days.”

“Thank you, Clarke.” Lexa sat up more, smiling down at her.

“For what?” Clarke asked, tilting her head slightly.

“For taking care of me,” she said gently, and Clarke lightly blushed as she smiled.

“Of course.”

She then noticed Lexa's eyes glance down at her exposed thigh, and Clarke realized her hand was still resting on it. She quickly retrieved it back.

She was _definitely_ blushing now.

“Alright, well...” She cleared her throat. “Let's go back out there before Raven gets any stupid ideas,” she said, quickly getting up.

“What do you mean?” Lexa asked as she stood and pulled her pants back up, and Clarke chuckled nervously.

“Like, uhm...you know...” she trailed off, but Lexa continued to stare at her, waiting for an explanation. “N-Never mind. Let's go.”

_Of course_ , when they came back out, Raven was already smirking.

“You were in there for a bit,” she said as Octavia tried to hide her smile.

“Oh, shut up.” Clarke rolled her eyes as she sat back down on the couch.

“Octavia, are you, as they put it: ready to get your butt kicked?” Lexa then asked cleverly, and Raven looked excited as Octavia stood up with a challenging smile.

 

It wasn't long before Octavia was getting the hang of the moves through slower examples, and Lexa seemed to be doing better and better on her leg each time.

“Alright, it is your turn to try. Now, it does not matter how big, or fast, or strong your opponent is. Everyone has a weak spot. You just have to find it,” Lexa said, getting back in her ready stance, and Octavia did the same.

Clarke and Raven watched on eagerly, but before either of them made the first move, Raven suddenly spoke up.

“Clarke! Put your shirt back on!” she yelled out, causing Lexa to look over, and Octavia quickly grabbed her arm and spun her over her shoulder, taking her down to the floor with a hard thud.

“ _Raven!”_ Clarke huffed angrily, smacking her arm as she laughed heartily. “That's cheating!”

Lexa look slightly flustered as she lied there on the floor staring up at Clarke, while Octavia threw her arms up and cheered.

Suddenly, she spun her legs around and kicked the back of Octavia's leg, causing her to yelp out as she fell hard to the floor.

“Ow! Shit...” she exhaled with a frown as Lexa got back up.

“Looks like I found her weak spot,” Raven whispered as she nudged Clarke with her elbow, and she rolled her eyes as she looked to Lexa.

She smiled almost nervously at Clarke, before she looked away, clearing her throat as her features became stolid.

“Never let your guard down,” she told Octavia, who lied there pouting on the floor.

 

They decided to take a break, and Clarke gathered up a snack and drinks for all of them while they sat in the living room.

“So, we still going to Pride this weekend?” Raven asked as she popped a cracker in her mouth.

“Uhm, I don't know if that's a good idea what with that Detective Pike going around asking questions,” Clarke said with a light frown. Pride was the day after tomorrow.

“Sure it would be. We'll go, take pictures, post them on social media, and if he's poking around, you think he would really suspect someone who is going out in public and having fun?” Raven asked, and Clarke had to think about it.

“Wouldn't that be putting her more out there by posting pictures of her?”

“Nah. They're looking for a scary apocalyptic girl, remember? Not a little gay bean having fun at Pride. It would back up her story more,” Raven pressed on, but Clarke just wasn't sure. “ _Come on_. Nate and Bryan are having a pride party that night too. Let's show Lexa how fun this world can be!”

“I just...I don't know if she's ready for that,” she said, looking to Lexa with uncertainty as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Clarke, she's still a human being. Not a fragile alien,” Raven pointed out, and as Clarke continued to stare at Lexa, she smiled gently at Clarke.

“I would not mind seeing your celebrations...” she said with a light shrug.

She thought about it for a silent moment. Sure, it would be amusing to show Lexa what fun they could have, but...what if something were to happen? What if they recognized her, and she got arrested or something? What if they ran into 'Modern Lexa'?

However, it seemed as if Octavia had read her mind.

“We can disguise her in a bunch of gay pride gear, and there will be _tons_ of people. She'll be too hard to spot,” she encouraged, and Raven nodded eagerly.

“Yeah! Come on, Clarke! What do you say?”

She looked around at all of them once more, her eyes landing last on Lexa, who tried to keep her features neutral, but there was slight curiosity in her eyes. She seemed interested, and Clarke didn't want to be the bad guy who kept her locked up.

She finally sighed. “Alright. We'll go.”

“Yes!” Raven and Octavia cheered, and Lexa actually smiled widely.

Hopefully this wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

* * *

 

 

Thankfully, Clarke did not get a visit from Detective Pike—yet—and Raven told her that she and Monty still had a few things to work out on the machine before they could test it. Apparently, when they had tried to turn on the machine the first time, it exploded and singed Monty's hair, which Raven said in a fit of giggles over the phone that he had to go get a haircut.

In all honesty though, despite having to keep Lexa mostly hidden from the world to an extent, Clarke was kind of glad they hadn't figured it out yet. She was rather enjoying Lexa's company more and more as the days passed. It was rather selfish of her, but could she blame herself when Lexa was nothing short of adorable and intriguing?

Especially during moments like when Lexa became excited when Clarke taught her how to use the filters from Snapchat that Raven had put on her phone.

She had never received so many silly snaps before.

 

Finally, the time for Pride fun came.

“Alright, we got a bunch of rainbow shit, feathers, glitter...” Raven trailed off as she pulled a bunch of stuff from a bag. “—Oh and look! We found a rainbow mask!” she said, pulling out a colorful party eye mask. “This will be perfect for her!”

“Who's all going with us?” Clarke asked as Lexa looked at all of the colorful items in awe.

“Just you, me, Octavia, and Lexa here.” She smiled, and then added with a light frown, “Monty said no to the parade because he has to work, but he said he'll go to the party after, and he's bringing Harper, Maya, and Jasper.”

“Okay.” Clarke nodded, starting to feel a bit more excited to show Lexa this side of their world, and as she looked at Lexa, she found her wearing a colorful unicorn headband, and a rainbow feather boa around her neck.

“These are cool.” She smiled up at her, and Clarke couldn't help but smile back.

“Alright! Let's get you dressed!” Raven said excitedly.

 

Clarke painted a rainbow design on hers and Octavia's face, while Raven said she had an idea for Lexa and practically shoved her into the guest bedroom.

Once they emerged, Clarke couldn't help but think how cute Lexa looked.

She had a rainbow bow-tie on, with rainbow suspenders over a simple white shirt, a puffy rainbow tutu with rainbow knee-high socks, finished with her black boots and the colorful eye mask.

Clarke wasn't sure if it was just more adorable knowing Lexa was a strong, intimidating warrior underneath all of the colorfulness.

“Well? What'dya think?” Raven asked proudly.

“I think that's your best outfit yet,” Clarke chuckled. “You look cute, Lexa.”

“Thank you, Clarke. I think you look good as well,” Lexa said, and Clarke smiled widely.

She had just gone for a more simple look with high-waisted shorts, a rainbow halter top, rainbow knee-high socks, an armband, and a colorful flower headband.

Once they were all finished decking themselves out, it was time to head out to catch the parade.

 

“Keep the mask on, okay?” Clarke said as they sat in the backseat of Octavia's car, and Lexa nodded. “And hold my hand so we don't get separated.”

“Alright,” Lexa said, but Clarke didn't expect her to grab it right away.

She tried not to smile as butterflies immediately erupted in her tummy as Lexa intertwined their fingers together, looking all around as they headed towards downtown.

They parked a few blocks away in the first spot they could find and got out, walking towards the big crowd in the distance.

“There are a lot of people...” Lexa said in awe as she stared ahead.

“Don't worry, I won't lose you,” Clarke said, and as Lexa looked at her with a light smile under the mask, she had to look away as the words felt different than the way she had intended it.

_Don't think about that._ She told herself, and focused on just having fun.

And they did just that.

It was intriguing to Clarke at how amazed Lexa was at everything. At first, she was a little cautious and tense, almost glaring under the mask as people walked close by, but when they simply smiled at her or cheered, she seemed to relax more. And she didn't let go of her hand once. A few people had even commented on how cute of a couple they were, and all Clarke could do was smile bashfully.

They watched the parade, and then walked around looking at the different sponsored and craft tents, and finally stopped to rest and watch a few drag shows on an outside stage.

“Some of these women are built quite large. They would make great warriors,” Lexa said to Clarke, who chuckled.

“They are actually men,” she said, and Lexa looked to Clarke with curiosity.

“They are men?” she asked, and Clarke nodded.

“They're called Drag Queens, and they mostly put on stage performances for entertainment,” she said, and watched Lexa curiously as she stared up at them on stage again, wondering what she was thinking.

“...Well, they sure do entertain admirably. I am enjoying watching them,” she said with a nod, and Clarke smiled.

“Here, drink!” Raven suddenly popped up, handing Lexa a plastic cup of beer.

“What is this?” she asked, sniffing it and slightly making a face.

“Alcohol!” Raven said excitedly, taking a drink from her own cup before she stood next to Octavia to watch the performance.

Lexa took a small sip, and then frowned even more, looking to Clarke. “Why would I want to drink this? It is disgusting.”

“Beer is kind of an acquired taste. It's cheaper than most alcohol, so people drink it,” she said with a shrug, and took the cup from Lexa, taking a drink. “Ugh, yeah...it's gross, but you slowly get used to it,” she said, chuckling, and Lexa smiled.

“Say 'gay'!” Raven suddenly said, holding her phone up.

“Why?” Lexa asked curiously, and Clarke chuckled.

“Just look there and smile,” she said as they gathered closer together, and Raven snapped a picture of them.

She brought it down so they could look, and Clarke smiled as she saw Lexa's confused smiling face as Lexa stared at it in awe.

“That is us,” she said, looking to Clarke, who nodded and smiled wider.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Cool.” Lexa smiled, and began watching the performance again.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

 

Once it started to turn into the evening, they finally left and headed towards Nate and Bryan's house for their party.

“Who do you think will all be there?” Clarke asked, and Raven shrugged.

“I don't know, actually. Is your boyfriend coming?” she asked Octavia, who shook her head.

“No, he has to work.”

“Lame.”

Octavia parked in their lawn, as there were already quite a few cars taking up their driveway, and they headed inside.

“Hey! You guys made it!” Nate greeted them excitedly, already seeming buzzed, and they all hugged.

“Nate, this is Lexa, Clarke's girlfriend,” Raven introduced her, but Lexa kept the mask on like Clarke had said.

“Clarke's girlfriend? Since when?” Nate asked with a false shocked face, and Clarke shrugged as she smiled.

“It _has_ been a while since we've hung out,” she said, cleverly avoiding the answer. They hadn't discussed how long her and Lexa had been 'dating' after all.

“I know, I know. Work has had me swamped lately. I'm sorry,” Nate said, placing a hand on his chest with sincerity. “Anyway, nice to meet you! My boyfriend is…” Nate looked around, and then shrugged, “—Ah you'll see him somewhere. But you guys go ahead and get a drink! Enjoy yourselves! I gotta go grab more toilet paper from upstairs, so I'll see you!” he said, and they all waved as he disappeared through the small crowd.

They walked further in and found Monty with Harper, Jasper, and Maya. Monty's hair was definitely shorter.

“Oh wow, Monty, you got a haircut!” Octavia said excitedly, and he forced a smile.

“Yeah...just you know...felt like a change,” he said with a shrug, causing Raven and Clarke to laugh as the others looked slightly confused.

As Raven introduced Lexa to the others, Monty leaned over, holding something out.

“Here's her ID,” he said, and Clarke looked down, taking it from him.

“Cool. Thanks.” Clarke smiled, looking up as she tucked it away. “Jasper didn't ask any questions?”

“Nah. He didn't care, as long as he got the special brownies I told him I'd get,” he said with a smirk.

“Good.”

“Looks like you two are getting pretty acquainted,” Monty then said with a smirk, nodding towards hers and Lexa's hands that were still entwined, and Clarke smiled.

“Just doing our part,” she said, fighting the blush.

“Alright! Let's party!” Raven suddenly said excitedly as she began to head towards the kitchen, and Lexa looked to Clarke with a nervous smile.

Clarke squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole night.”

 

Somehow, they got separated.

Clarke had gone to the bathroom after two drinks, leaving Lexa with Raven and Octavia because there was quite a line, but when she finally came out, they were gone. When she tried to look around for them, she got stopped by so many friends who wanted to engage in long conversations with her that it took some effort to drag herself away, and she was slowly becoming worried as time passed. She wasn't in the kitchen, or in the living room, or outside, but she didn't spot Raven or Octavia either so she hoped they were still with her. Where could she have gone?

“...So yeah, things are starting to look up. I'm pretty excited!” Zoe smiled excitedly after she told Clarke all about the new job she had just started.

“That's great, I'm really glad to hear it.” Clarke nodded, and took this break in their conversation to finally get away. “Excuse me, I gotta go find Raven and the others and make sure they're not getting too wild.”

“Alright! See you around!” Zoe waved, and Clarke took off to look once more.

_Finally_ , she found Lexa with Raven and Octavia down in the basement, standing at the beer pong table surrounded by cheering people.

“Clarke! Finally!” Raven called out, obviously becoming drunk. “We were wondering where you had gone off to!”

“I've been looking for you guys,” Clarke huffed somewhat with irritation, and looked to Lexa. “Are you alright?”

However, when Lexa turned to her and pulled her face mask up, Clarke could tell she was becoming drunk as well, as her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were slightly glazed over.

_Oh no._

“Clarke! I am good at the pong of beer!” she said excitedly, and Raven threw an arm over her shoulder.

“Fuck yeah she is! Who knew!” she laughed heartily, and Clarke finally noticed the rainbow flag tied around Lexa's neck like a cape.

She looked to Octavia, who seemed to be more sober for the most part, and she smiled with a shrug.

“If you guys are so good at beer pong, why do you seem more drunk?” Clarke then asked Raven with a raise of her brow, but it was Octavia who spoke up.

“Raven here thinks it's a good idea that every time Lexa makes a shot, they take a 'victory shot', which doesn't exactly make sense, but—“

Suddenly, everyone cheered again as Lexa successfully landed the ball into the last cup, winning the game.

“Clarke! Where did you find this girl? She is amazing!” Emori, one of their friends, popped up excitedly.

Clarke looked to Lexa, who was smiling proudly, and chuckled. “Uh...she just kinda popped into my life,” she said with a shrug.

“Play again!” someone called out.

“Yeah!” Raven cheered, swaying slightly, but Clarke shook her head.

“Oh no, I think you two need a break,” she said, and Lexa frowned.

“Why not, Clarke—I mean, _babe_? I am good at the beer of pong,” she said, and Clarke chuckled.

“Yes, you are, but you are getting drunk _way_ too fast and that never ends well,” she said a bit sternly, and Lexa nodded.

“Alright, babe,” she said, and immediately grabbed her hand again.

Clarke blushed furiously as butterflies attacked her insides. They stood by and watched as others started up another game, all the while her arm tingling.

After a moment of watching the others play, Lexa then looked to Clarke, staring at her, and Clarke tried hard not to get lost in her beautiful green eyes.

“What?” she finally asked, unable to stop the smile that was creeping onto her face.

“I like holding your hand,” Lexa suddenly said, and once again, Clarke's insides fluttered.

“You do?” she asked, trying not to smile _too_ widely, and Lexa nodded, pulling her mask down over her face again.

“Mhm. I did not hold Costia's hand very much, because it was forbidden,” she said, and then lightly frowned. “I should have known better.”

“Hey, that's not your fault,” Clarke said with a frown of her own as she realized who Lexa was referring to. “If anything, it was your Commander's fault. They shouldn't have forbidden it,” she said only loud enough for her to hear.

Lexa stared at her for another moment, and then looked away, causing Clarke to become curious and somewhat worried.

“What's wrong, Lexa?”

“Well, Clarke...the truth is—“

“—Clarke! Raven's puking!” Someone suddenly called out, and Clarke looked over to see Raven bent over a big trash can with Octavia, Monty, and Harper next to her.

“Uhm, hold that thought,” she said, and they made their way over to them. Octavia pulled her hair back into a ponytail while Harper gently rubbed her back.

“I think it was the smell of the Vienna Sausages that Murphy offered that did it for her,” Monty said, and Murphy gave an apologetic smile from a few feet away.

“Are you alright?” Clarke asked once Raven was done, and she straightened up and nodded with a smile.

“Yup! Gimme another drink! 'mready!” she slurred cheerfully, but Clarke shook her head.

“Uhm, no. How about you sit down and take a rest, Champ,” she said with a chuckle, and Raven didn't object as they found a fold-out chair close by, and they sat her down. “Lexa, can you stay with them while I go get Raven some water?” she asked, and Lexa nodded. “Okay. Don't leave,” she said just for safe measure, and Lexa nodded once more.

“Yes, babe.”

She quickly went upstairs and thankfully found bottles of water in Nate's fridge, and headed back down to give to Raven, as well as one for Lexa just in case.

They sat with her for a bit while another game began to play, and Clarke figured they should head out soon as it seemed Raven was slowly becoming more tired now.

Suddenly, Monty was recording a snap of Raven hunched over, trying to drink her water while some of it spilled down her chin, and Clarke raised a brow.

“What are you doing?” she asked, and he smiled as he saved it and put his phone away.

“Just for backup if she makes fun of my hair again,” he said, and Clarke chuckled with a shake of her head.

“This celebration is cool. This drink is cool. This is cool,” Lexa said happily as she took another sip from a cup that Clarke wasn't sure where she had gotten from.

“Uhm, give me that,” Clarke said, taking the drink from Lexa, who frowned, and replaced it with the water, “and drink this.”

“Thank you, babe. You are just so nice...and cool,” Lexa smiled again, her eyes glazed over, and Clarke chuckled.

“Thank you, Lexa,” she said, and wondered about what Lexa was going to say earlier before Raven started puking, but she figured she would save that conversation for later when they weren't surrounded by people and Lexa wasn't so intoxicated.

“—Hey, Clarke! I want you to meet my new friend!” Emori suddenly said as she approached them, pulling another girl along with her, who seemed like she had just arrived to the party. “She's an artist too! Well, she's an art director. Her name's Costia.”

Suddenly, Lexa's eyes snapped up to the woman with dark curly hair.

“...Costia?”

The words barely left her mouth in a whisper.

Clarke quickly looked over at Monty, who's eyes snapped to hers with worry, and she turned to look just in time to see Lexa's eyes that were staring wide at the girl behind the mask, before they rolled to the back of her head, and she fell hard to the floor.

“ _Lexa!”_

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter-Whaaat!  
> I cannot say enough about how amazing your guys' support is that it really helped pumping out this next chapter!  
> It is just a tad shorter than most -I think- but I hope you guys enjoy it all the same!

“ _Is she alright?”_

“ _Man, she fell hard!”_

“ _The Beer Pong Champ is down!”_

 

Clarke was immediately down on her knees next to her, gently shaking her arm just to try to get a response. “Lexa...Lexa…can you hear me? Are you alright?”

Lexa lightly groaned as she began to come around, and when she finally opened her eyes, she stared up at Clarke for a moment, before looking at everyone else surrounded around her.

“Do you know what month it is? Who is the president? What year is it?” Jasper asked quickly, leaning down close.

“ _...Chit don kom au?”_ she managed to get out, her brows pulling together, and Clarke became worried as she realized she was speaking her native tongue.

“Shh, Lexa. Don't talk,” Clarke tried to say calmly and quietly. Hopefully no one had noticed.

“Great. She's got amnesia, _and_ she's forgotten how to talk,” Jasper suddenly said with a shake of his head, earning a glare from Clarke, but Octavia smacked him.

“ _Shut up_ , Jasper. You're drunk.”

“What...happened?” Lexa asked with a bit of a slur, trying to sit up more, and Clarke became relieved that she spoke English instead as she helped her.

“You uhm...passed out,” she said, keeping it vague as there were a bunch of people still around them, and Lexa stopped for a moment, closing her eyes.

She opened them again, and when she looked to Clarke through half-lidded eyes, she stared at her for a long moment, seeming as if she were trying to figure something out.

“What is it, Lexa?” Clarke asked with worry. Did she forget who she was?

Suddenly, Lexa smiled gently. “Your eyes are pretty, Clarke. Like the sky.”

Clarke smiled gently, trying to ignore the butterflies, but also relieved that she didn't forget who she was. It was obvious she was still drunk though, and she looked to Monty. “Can you help me get her and Raven to the car? I think we need to take them home,” she said, and he nodded. They helped her to her feet, and Clarke wrapped Lexa's arm around her shoulder while she held her waist.

“Alright, we're good! She's fine!” Jasper said with his hands up, waving the people away, and Octavia rolled her eyes as she and Harper helped Raven to her feet.

“Is she alright?” The girl named Costia suddenly approached them, and Clarke became tense as Lexa looked over at her again.

She stared at her for a moment, and Clarke was afraid of what was going to happen. Would she pass out again? Would she remember her again from her own world? What even happened that first time?

“Hello.” Lexa suddenly smiled at her. “I am Lexa Woods, the big ol' lesbian,” she said to her, and Costia lightly chuckled as she looked to Clarke.

“Is she going to be alright?” she asked, and Clarke nodded, trying to hide her confusion. It seemed Lexa didn't remember her? Maybe she hit her head too hard.

“This is Clarke. She is cool. And pretty,” Lexa then said with a goofy smile, and Clarke tried not to blush as Costia chuckled again.

“Clarke! I heard what happened.” Nate approached them. “Is your girlfriend alright?” he asked with worry, and Clarke nodded.

“Yeah. I think she just drank too fast,” she explained, secretly glad he said 'girlfriend' in front of Costia, but she wasn't going to admit that out loud.

 _Wait, why am I glad he said that?_ The thought quickly passed through her head, but she pushed it away. Now was not the time.

“We're taking her home now. It was nice to meet you,” she said the last part to Costia, wanting to get Lexa out of there before anything else strange were to happen, and they began to walk Lexa over to the stairs.

“Who was that?” Lexa asked, and Clarke looked to Monty with cautious eyes, but she also felt something different at the thought that Lexa was asking about 'this world' Costia, who was once her love from her own world.

 _Now is not the time for jealousy._ She scolded herself.

“You don't remember her?” she asked her instead, and Lexa shook her head.

“No.”

 _Maybe she's just too drunk to remember._ Clarke thought to herself, but in all honesty she was eager to know if Lexa truly remembered her. It seemed like she had recognized her before she passed out.

As they finally got her and Raven into the backseat of the car, Clarke turned to Monty before she got in.

“Thanks for the help.”

“Do you want me to follow you guys?” he asked once Octavia got into the driver's seat, but Clarke shook her head because she knew he still had Harper, Maya, and Jasper to take home.

“No, I think we'll be alright for the most part. We're just going to put them to bed,” she said, glancing into the back of the car, and she looked at him with confusion. “What do you think happened?”

“I don't know...it's hard to say if she passed out from drinking, or...because she knew that girl,” he said quietly with a look of uncertainty, and Clarke nodded.

“I'll ask her in the morning when she's more sober,” she said, and he nodded.

“Alright. Just keep me updated,” he said, and Clarke waved as he headed back inside.

She got into the passenger seat and looked back at Lexa, who was slumped against Raven, both of their eyes closed, and she felt a sort of odd sadness wash over her.

 _She is not your real girlfriend._ She told herself, and faced forward.

However, she could feel eyes on her, and she looked over at Octavia, who was staring at her with a sort of sympathetic smile.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, why?” Clarke tried to play it cool, looking confused.

“Who was that girl?” Octavia asked instead, and Clarke had to look away.

“Apparently, she uhm...she was Lexa's love from her own world, but she was...she passed away,” she tried to say casually, but she felt weird about it.

“Oh...” Was all Octavia said, and thankfully said nothing more as she began to drive them back to Clarke's.

It was a silent drive, and Clarke couldn't stop the thoughts from running through her head. Would she remember Costia? Or if she didn't, would she want to get to know her again? Would she...fall in love with this one while she was here?

 _Stop._ She told herself. They would probably never see Costia again, as Clarke had never met her before, but the thoughts didn't let up until they finally made it home.

“Where should we put them?” Octavia asked, trying to hold Raven up as they walked inside.

“'mhungry...” Raven slurred.

“No, you need to sleep,” Octavia said sternly, and looked to Clarke for further instructions.

“Uhm...you can put her on the couch,” she said, but Raven shook her head.  
“Noooo. I want a bedddd...” she groaned, and Clarke had to think.

“Alright, put her in the guest room. I'll put Lexa in my bed,” she said, and Octavia nodded as she helped Raven walk towards the guest room.

“Come on, Lexa,” Clarke said, helping her along.

“Where we going, Clarke? —I mean, _baaaabe_ ,” Lexa giggled at the last part, and Clarke couldn't help but chuckle. A warrior who giggled was quite an ironic thought.

“You're going to sleep in my bed tonight,” she said as they walked down the hall. Lexa was stumbling a bit, but kept herself upright for the most part.

“Should I be the 'large spoon' like Raven said?” she asked with seriousness, and Clarke chuckled again.

“No. I'll sleep on the couch,” she said as they made it to her room, and she turned on the light.

“Elec-tri-city,” Lexa said, staring up at the light, and then looked to Clarke with a relaxed smile. “I like candles. They are much prettier to look at. Like you.”

Clarke smiled back with a heavy blush, trying not to think about how close Lexa's face was to hers, and reminding herself that she was drunk. “I'll remember that. Come on,” she said, walking her over to the bed. She helped her take off the mask and set it aside.

“You will not stay with me here?” Lexa asked once Clarke began to untie her boot.

“Uhm...I figured it would be best if I slept on the couch...” she said somewhat awkwardly.

“Why?” Lexa stared down at her with confusion.

Clarke had to think about it, and she shrugged lightly. “I don't know,” she said honestly.

“I would very much like if you stayed with me,” Lexa said, watching Clarke as she began on her other boot.

Clarke couldn't help herself now, and she looked up at her. “Lexa, do you...remember Costia?” she asked, and though she tried to ignore it, she couldn't help the uneasiness she felt. Why was she feeling so awkward about this?

Lexa stared at her for a moment, and Clarke's feelings only increased, until Lexa shook her head.

“I do not know who you are talking about.”

“That dark haired girl we met at the party? You don't remember her from your world?” she asked, and Lexa only looked more confused as she thought.

“...No.”

Clarke confusion only grew more. Why didn't she remember her?

“How's your head?”

“It is wavy. Light. I feel like air,” she said, purposefully swaying a bit.

“Don't do that. You might get sick,” Clarke warned gently, and Lexa sat still, smiling. She just needed to know though, and so she decided to ask again. “You don't remember Costia? Your...former love?”

“...My what?” Lexa asked, her face becoming confused again.

“Costia,” Clarke repeated, hoping to jog her memory. “You said she was once your love before she...” she trailed off, deciding that wasn't the best thing to say right now. “Before you came here.”

“I...” Lexa trailed off, closing her eyes, and Clarke waited anxiously. “I think...”

“Yes?” Clarke asked eagerly after a moment.

“...I think I am going to be sick,” she suddenly said.

“Oh no. Here.” Clarke quickly grabbed her small trash can that was beside her nightstand, and she held it in front of Lexa.

Suddenly, she began to puke.

Clarke got up and sat beside her, holding the trash for her, and she gently rubbed her back.

“Maybe letting you drink wasn't such a good idea,” Clarke said, feeling terrible. She also felt bad that she had basically interrogated her so hard, but she couldn't help it.

She just...wanted to know, but she figured it _was_ probably best to save it when Lexa wasn't intoxicated and with her face in the trash.

“Stay here and hold this. I'm going to get you more water,” Clarke said once it seemed like she was done, and she quickly got up, heading out towards the kitchen.

“Hey, Raven's pretty much out now,” Octavia said as she came out, motioning back with her thumb. “You alright here?” she asked, and Clarke nodded as she pulled out a bottle of water and a clean hand towel.

“Yeah, Lexa's throwing up, but she should be fine,” she said, wetting the towel in the sink.

“Alright, I'm going to head home then,” she said, but paused. “Are you...alright?” she asked, and Clarke looked to her with confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Well...it's just that after Lexa met _her_ , I...” Octavia paused, and sighed. “I know a pair of sad eyes when I see them,” she said, but Clarke chuckled awkwardly.

“What? I'm not—no. I just...” She shook her head as she struggled to form a correct sentence, but Octavia raised her brows. Clarke's awkward smile faded away, and she looked down at the towel in her hands. “It's just weird, I guess. All of it, really.”

“I understand, but Clarke...” Octavia paused for a beat, “from what Raven said, she does eventually have to...”

Clarke looked back up at her with a hard gaze, and Octavia gave her a sympathetic frown.

“...Just try not to get _too_ attached.”

“Right. I know.” Clarke nodded her head vigorously, trying not to feel defensive, and an awkwardness settled in the air.

“Okay, well...call me if you need anything,” Octavia finally said, and Clarke forced a light smile.

“I will. Thanks,” she said, and waved as Octavia headed out the door.

She stood there for a moment, and blew out a heavy breath.

She knew she was right. She shouldn't get so attached.

“ _Clarke?”_ She suddenly heard Lexa call out, and she quickly grabbed the water bottle and headed back towards her room.

“Here.” She handed her the towel, and Lexa wiped her mouth tiredly. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently, taking the trash and setting it to the side.

“Thirsty,” Lexa mumbled, and Clarke opened the water for her.

“Just take small sips, you don't want to drink too fast,” she warned her, and Lexa did as she said. She sat with her and gently rubbed her back for a bit longer just to make sure she was good.

“You would make a great healer,” Lexa suddenly said, looking to Clarke with a tired smile.

“You think so?” Clarke asked with an intrigued smile of her own, and Lexa nodded.

“Yes,” she sighed, taking another sip before setting the water bottle on the nightstand. “I feel better already.”

“Well, good,” Clarke chuckled and stood up. “Come on, let's get you into some pajamas.”

“Alright,” Lexa said, trying to untie the rainbow flag that was still around her neck, but failing.

“Here, let me help,” Clarke chuckled, and Lexa tilted her head back as Clarke untied it.

She then got out pajamas for Lexa to wear, and helped her get undressed, as it was apparent she was becoming increasingly tired.

Suddenly, Clarke noticed something as she helped Lexa get under the covers.

“Hey...what happened to your tattoo?” she asked, looking at it with confusion.

A part of her arm tattoo suddenly and strangely seemed to be missing. What happened to it? _How_ did that happen? There was more to it, wasn't there?

However, as she looked up at Lexa, she found her eyes closed, and she was already breathing heavily.

She looked back at her tattoo again and reached out, gently rubbing it. No, it wasn't fake...so how did part of it go missing?

Confusing thoughts ran through her head, but she decided she would tell Monty and Raven in the morning when they could both see it for themselves. She changed out the trash, and then got dressed into pajamas of her own before she walked over to turn off the light.

She hovered by the door, wondering if she should go sleep on the couch.

It would probably be best as Octavia's warning echoed in her head, but as she stared at Lexa's sleeping form, she shook her head.

 _I know it's all for pretend, and we'll be sleeping in the same bed eventually. I'm not getting attached._ She tried to tell herself—though it didn't quite feel so convincing—and finally got into bed next to Lexa, settling under the covers.

Suddenly, Lexa gently scooted herself back up against Clarke with a content sigh, and she tried to ignore the butterflies that sparked up in her stomach.

She sighed, and finally closed her eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn't a surprise that Clarke woke up first, but what _did_ surprise her was the fact that Lexa was practically lying halfway on her, with her arm draped over her stomach, and her face in her neck.

It sort of surprised her at how warm and soft Lexa felt, as if her being a warrior would have made her cold and hard, and there was those damn butterflies again as her breath rolled against her skin. She lied there for a long moment, secretly and selfishly soaking up the feelings before she tried to carefully remove herself from Lexa.

However, she began to stir, and Clarke watched as her brows pulled together, a light groan coming from her throat, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hey,” Clarke said quietly with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts,” Lexa mumbled, shutting her eyes again, and Clarke chuckled gently.

“I was afraid that was going to happen. Drink some more water when you're ready, and I'll get you some pain pills,” she said, and Lexa nodded gently as Clarke finally got out of bed.

She went out and decided to check on Raven first, who was still passed out on the guest bed, snoring quite loudly, and headed back to the bathroom to get pain reliever for Lexa. She stopped though as she caught her reflection in the mirror, and quickly fixed her hair and took off the design that was now smudged on the side of her face before she headed back out.

When she returned, she found Lexa slightly sitting up more, sipping on the water from last night.

“Here, these should help.” She handed them to her. “And when you feel like you can start moving around, you should take a shower. That will help more.”

“Thank you,” Lexa said, her voice slightly hoarse, and Clarke was secretly proud that she had remembered to swallow the pills with water.

Of course, Clarke wanted to question her again, but she told herself she needed to wait on that.

“Did you have fun yesterday?” she asked instead, and Lexa nodded with a gentle smile.

“Yes. The Pride was much fun. As was the celebration at your friend's home...from what I remember,” Lexa said, a slight confusion crossing her face at the end, and Clarke felt her curiosity spark, but she held it back. Especially because Lexa had a headache, and she didn't want to make it worse.

“Yeah, who knew you were so good at Beer Pong,” Clarke teased, and Lexa's features became somewhat bashful.

“I do not really remember the end...Did I win?” She looked up, and Clarke nodded.

“Yes, you did.”

“Cool.” She smiled proudly.

 

Eventually, Lexa was feeling better enough to take a shower, and Clarke decided to wait for her in the living room after preparing coffee.

However, there was suddenly a loud _thud_ , but before Clarke had a chance to get up to investigate, Raven quickly came out of the room with her hair wild and her clothes slightly disheveled. Clarke became more confused though as she had her phone to her ear and she was wearing a confused, almost panicked expression.

“Raven, what's wrong?” Clarke asked worriedly.

“Turn on the TV!” Raven suddenly said, and without a second thought, Clarke quickly grabbed the remote and turned it on. Raven immediately snatched the remote out of her hands though, and flipped it to the local news channel.

“What are you—“ Clarke began to question, but Raven held her hand up.

“—Shh!”

“ _...local authorities are unsure of how or when the incident took place, but it appears one of the historical projects of the well-known late scientist Becca Pramheda has disappeared from the Polis Science Center. After the unusual and frightening incident that took place nearly a week earlier has authorities wondering if this is the work of the 'Raccoon Girl', as people have dubbed her on social media, who is still at large. Workers at the science center claim they never saw anyone unauthorized go in or out of the museum, as that area is still not open to the public yet, but the more strange part of this story is the footage they caught on one of the security cameras. You will see as we play the video here that one of the projects on display in the upper right corner is there one second, and in the next, it seems to disappear without a trace. Let's play it now...”_

Clarke and Raven watched anxiously in silence as they played a security footage of the inside of the museum. They could see the project on display in the upper right corner that was sitting inside a glass case with no one around.

Suddenly, the camera seemed to have wigged out, and in the next second, the project vanished.

“Did you see that!” Raven said, pointing to the screen, and Clarke nodded her head vigorously.

“ _It seems the item just vanishes out of thin air. Let's watch that again,”_ the reporter said, and as they played the footage a second time, Clarke took notice of the time displayed in the corner.

“Raven, the time!” Clarke said, and once the footage finished playing for a second time, Raven turned to Clarke with confusion.

“What about it?”

“Is that Monty on the phone?” Clarke asked instead, and Raven nodded. “Tell him to come over quick. I think I know what happened.”

 

Lexa had gotten out of the shower and got dressed just as Monty arrived in record time, and they explained to her what they saw on the TV.

“So, what Clarke?” Raven finally asked her, eager to know.

“Well, okay...” She turned to Lexa. “Do you...remember anything after the Beer Pong game last night?” she asked, but Lexa shook her head.

“No.”

“You don't remember meeting someone you might have known before?” she pressed on, and Lexa shook her head again.

“I do not. Why?”

“Look at your tattoo,” she then said, and as Lexa looked down at it, her eyes became even more confused.

“What happened to it?” She looked up at Clarke with worry.

“—Wait, what's wrong with it? Explain what's going on,” Raven said, looking just as confused.

Clarke glanced at Monty, before she looked back to Lexa with slight hesitance. “You...you met Costia last night,” she said, and she waited anxiously to see her reaction—to see if she remembered now that she was sober.

However, Lexa's brows creased.

“...Who?”

Clarke stared at her for a moment, puzzled. So, she really didn't remember her _at all_?

“Costia,” Clarke repeated. “She was...your former love from your world. You told me about her,” she explained, but Lexa looked away in confusion and thought.

“I do not...remember a Costia.”

“I don't get it,” Raven said with a shake of her head. “What does that have to do with her tattoo?”

“You really don't remember Costia? At all?” Clarke asked Lexa again, and she shook her head.

“No. I have never heard of any one by that name,” she said sternly, almost seeming frustrated.

“Wait, I think I get it now...” Monty suddenly said, nodding his head as he looked to Clarke. “It's starting to make sense.”

“—Okay, wait. _I'm_ really confused and hungover,” Raven spoke up, becoming irritated herself. “Someone _please_ explain what the hell is going on.”

“Well, like Clarke had said, Lexa met Costia last night. Someone she _actually knew_ from her world, and then she passed out. We thought she may have drank too much, but learning now that one of Becca's projects suddenly disappeared at the same time we were at the party last night makes me think it's connected,” Monty said, his eyes roaming the floor.

“Okay...” Raven said slowly, her mind clearly trying to connect things together to catch up.

“And _now_ , part of her tattoo is gone, and she doesn't remember Costia at all...” Monty trailed off, his mind clearly running at full speed.

“So...what do you think that means?” Clarke asked worriedly, and after a tense moment, Monty finally looked at her with concern heavy in his eyes.

They waited silently.

“I think it means...our time-line is trying to erase her.”

They all looked to Lexa as silence settled in the room.

 

* * *

 

 

“I don't understand, why is it trying to 'erase' her now? She's been fine this whole time,” Clarke said in bewilderment. She was trying remain calm as to not freak Lexa out, but she was utterly worried now.

“Well, because she hasn't met anyone she's known before, right?” Raven spoke up, and Monty nodded.

“Yeah. It seems everyone she's met so far, she's never met in her world.”

“But that doesn't explain why she suddenly doesn't remember Costia anymore?” Clarke said in question, and Monty's mind was working again.

“I'm not exactly sure why that is, but it still kind of makes sense. When she meets someone she's known before, it messes with our time-line, so it erases it from hers. It wouldn't surprise me if the time-line in her world is different now. It probably changed, and I bet Costia never existed there now,” he said, his brows pulled low. “I wish we could see to know for sure, but clearly from her not having any memories of Costia, I wouldn't doubt her world has changed already.”

“But what does that have to do with Becca's project disappearing?” Clarke asked, but it was Raven who spoke this time.

“It's basically because of Becca why Lexa's here in a way. She's like...the connection to all of it. So, it would make sense that her stuff is disappearing too, because our time-line is trying to fix itself, which would mean erasing all that is connecting to her world...right?” she said, almost seeming certain, but also confused still.

“I think you're right.” Monty nodded.

Clarke's mind felt like it was racing a millions miles a second, and she finally looked to Lexa, who had remained silent this whole time.

“...Lexa, are you alright?” she asked gently, and Lexa finally looked up at her.

“If I am to understand this correctly...this means that I will eventually...disappear?” she asked, looking to Monty.

He stared at her for a moment in silence, but it was clear that he didn't need to say it as he looked down.

“I see,” Lexa said quietly with a nod.

“But wait, let's not panic here,” Raven said, keeping her voice calm. “It only seems to be when she meets someone she knows from her world, right?”

“Right.” Monty nodded.

“So...she just can't meet anyone else until we can figure out how to get her back,” she said, and they all nodded in agreement.

However, Raven's words struck a realization in Clarke. A rather...selfish and upsetting thought.

Lexa would eventually be gone either way.

She swallowed hard, pushing the ill feeling away.

“We'll figure out a way to get her back,” Monty said in reassurance, looking to Lexa, who smiled gently.

“Will her time-line still be different when she goes back?” Clarke asked, and both Monty and Raven became silent as they searched through their thoughts.

“I don't think so. If we can send her back, I think her time-line will correct itself. When I was reading through Becca's notes, it seemed like she had mentioned about one possibly not remembering anything that happened—because again—the time-line would correct itself, and the person traveling would not remember...if that makes sense,” Monty said, though with slight uncertainty.

“So...I will not remember any of this?” Lexa spoke up, and Monty shrugged with some agreement.

“I don't think you will if you go back right to the moment you left,” he said, rubbing his chin. “If I understood it right, your time-line would fix itself so that you were just as you were right before you left.”

“But if things are changing in her world…?” Clarke trailed off with still so many questions running through her head.

“Well, we can't see her world, but think of it like...playing a game. You do things that change the story line as you go along, but if you don't save it and die— _which I'm not saying you will_ ,” Monty quickly added to Lexa with reassurance. “You go back to the beginning, and everything is reset to the way it was before, you know? At least...that's what I'm sure would happen.”

 _So...she won't remember me at all._ Clarke thought sadly to herself, but she tried not to let it show.

“Alright, but wait. Say if you...can't build the machine to send her back...couldn't we just move somewhere else? —I mean, move her,” Clarke quickly corrected herself, earning a curious glance from Raven. “You know, some place where there's no one she's ever met before?” she tried to ask casually.

“I mean, I guess, but...she's not meant to be in this world. There's a chance that even if she didn't meet anyone she knew, our world could possibly start changing,” Monty said with a shrug.

“I think it already has,” Raven suddenly said, and they looked to her curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“Look.” She held out her phone, tapping on a live video, and they leaned in to watch.

“ _...an earthquake occurred early this morning, knocking out power all over the northern part of California. Neighboring states were even affected—“_

Raven stopped the video, and they all looked up at each other.

“That could just be a coincidence, right?” Clarke questioned, but neither Monty or Raven had an answer.

“—Excuse me,” Lexa suddenly said, and they watched quietly as she got up and headed towards the kitchen, before Clarke heard the back door open and shut gently.

She sat there for a moment, wondering if she should follow or leave her alone. She couldn't imagine what Lexa must be feeling right now, having received all of this terrifying information, but it seemed obvious she didn't want to be around anyone. At least, she figured, until Raven spoke up.

“Clarke,” she said, causing her to look at her. “Follow her.”

“She probably just wants to be alone,” she said quietly, but Raven shook her head.

“She probably already feels alone. Go,” she said, and Clarke looked to Monty, who was giving her a look that said he agreed, and she finally nodded, standing up.

“I'll be right back.”

She walked through the kitchen and towards the back door, but she paused as she looked out of the small window. She could see Lexa sitting on the old wooden swing that belonged to her grandparents, and she finally opened the door.

She shut it gently, but Lexa didn't turn, even as Clarke approached the swing. She figured she knew she was there, but she kept quiet and still, and Clarke finally went around to sit next to her.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Clarke found the courage to speak.

“I'm...really sorry.” Was all she could think to say, taking a cautious glance towards her.

“Do not apologize. It is not your fault,” Lexa said, still staring ahead with a stoic face.

“We'll figure out a way to get you back. I swear,” Clarke said with reassurance, and Lexa finally looked to her.

“And if you cannot?” she asked, and Clarke had to look away from her solemn stare for a moment.

“We'll find a way,” she said with determination. “I know you're probably scared, but we will.”

“It is not that I am scared, Clarke,” Lexa said, facing forward again. “Not for myself. I am...worried for my people.”

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked, her brow slightly creasing.

Lexa opened her mouth, closed it, and lightly sighed before she looked down at her lap. “I have not been...very truthful,” she said, and Clarke waited silently for her to continue. “There is something I have not told any of you.”

“What is it?” Clarke asked, her worry increasing. What else could there be?

“Do you remember that I told you that because of my blood, it meant that I was to live and serve under the Commander of my people?” she asked, and Clarke nodded. “Well...the truth is...I _am_ the Commander.”

Clarke stared at her for a silent moment.

“I'm sorry?” she finally asked, staring at Lexa. Did she hear that right?

“I am the Commander of my people. I am _Heda._ Those who are born with blood like mine are called _Natblida_ , which means Nightblood. We are gathered together to train and learn the ways of our people, and then when the time comes, we fight to death. The last one remaining is the chosen one by the Spirit of the Commanders, and we receive The Flame,” she explained, and once again, Clarke's mind was going again.

So...she was the ruler of all of her people? She had to fight and kill all of the others like her? She was _The Commander_?

“W-What...is 'The Flame'?” Clarke finally asked.

“It is the Spirit of the former Commanders before me. There is only one. The chosen one receives it on the day of their Ascension,” she said, and suddenly turned her back towards Clarke.

She watched as she began to pull up on her shirt, until Clarke could see an intricate tattoo going down her spine, but at the very top, on the back of her neck was an infinity symbol with a scar going down the center.

“The Flame is in the back of my neck,” she said, and suddenly Clarke realized something.

Becca's most famous invention was the first AI chip she had designed to coexist with the human mind to help better understand and solve problems, and instantly receive knowledge, that was implanted at the back of the neck. There was only one of its kind, until they made more that was modified to aim more at helping those with illnesses, pains, disabilities, and such, but only those who could afford it received it.

However, it suddenly made sense why Becca's machine brought her specifically. She was a straight connection between it all, or at least, the AI chip was if there was only one in her world.

“I...” Clarke was somewhat at a loss for words, until a thought came to her. “Why didn't you tell us before?” she asked as Lexa let her shirt down and turned back to her.

She lightly shrugged. “My entire life, since they discovered I was a Nightblood, I have been treated differently. Even now as Commander. My people respect me, but they also fear me. However, I have always had to be conscious of how I spoke, how I acted, how I felt, what actions I took...everything that I did, that I could not be my true self. Since my Ascension, I have always had to be _Heda_ , and not just...Lexa.” She looked down again. “For once…I did not have to do that here, and so...I did not tell any of you so you would not treat me differently.”

“You were afraid we would treat you like your people do?” Clarke asked, and Lexa nodded.

“Yes, but I have realized your world is so much more different than mine. And so, I am sorry I did not tell you sooner,” she said, looking up, and Clarke gave her a sympathetic smile.

“You're right. We wouldn't have treated you like that. I mean...maybe Raven would have treated you more properly...” she added in thought, and Lexa actually smiled gently. “But we would have treated you almost the same. You're not _that_ special just because you came from another world, Lexa. Jeez,” she teased with a slight nudge, and Lexa chuckled gently.

However, as they sat there on the swing for another moment, Clarke's smile faded as she thought of something else.

“So...that's why you said it was forbidden for you to love, because you were basically a special target,” she said, and Lexa nodded, but her brows creased.

“Yes, but I still do not remember...that girl you spoke of, and that is what worries me most. What if I lose all of my memories, Clarke? What if I forget who I am? What if I cannot get back to properly lead my people? What if another true Commander cannot be chosen because The Flame is gone from my world?”

As Lexa stared at her, Clarke could see genuine worry in her eyes, and she felt bad for ever selfishly thinking of keeping Lexa here. She had her own duties to uphold, and her own city and people to lead.

From what Clarke understood, she has had this responsibility—this weight on her shoulders, basically ever since she was born, and so she couldn't blame her for worrying, but at the same time, she surprised Clarke.

Here, she wasn't scared or worried—or she was just that good at hiding it at least—about 'disappearing' more than she was worried about her people and their future. It amazed Clarke at how unselfish and caring she seemed to be, despite being a warrior—scratch that, _The Commander_ —who has killed people, even her own people. Yes, Clarke was learning more that their world was very harsh, but underneath all of that, she was learning that Lexa had a big heart. One that she had to hide.

There was no doubt about it though, even if it saddened Clarke. She had to go back.

“We will find a way to get you back.” Clarke nodded.

Lexa looked up at her, and Clarke smiled gently.

“I promise.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would also like to note that I had just read about the massive earthquakes in Alaska after I had already written that part, and I am not personally using it for my story if that makes sense. (Again, I had just read about it, but I had written this beforehand.)  
> Anyways, I hope that everyone there is safe, and they get all the help they need! It is super scary and sad, and if you or anyone you know has been affected, I hope that everything turns out okay and I am sending hopeful and good vibes! <3


End file.
